LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, 



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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 

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DICK'S 



HAND-BOOK 



OF 



WHIST. 



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r 



CONTAINING POLE'S AND CLAY'S RULES FOR PLAYING THE 

MODERN SCIENTIFIC GAME, THE CLUB RULES 

OF WHIST; AND TWO INTERESTING 

DOUBLE DUMMY PROBLEMS. 




j^& F «fS!^ 



Li 

NEW YOEK: 
DICK b FITZGERALD, PUBLISHERS. 

N 







&1//277 



Copyright, 1880, by 
DICK & FITZGERALD. 

Copyright, 1884, by 
DICK & FITZGERALD. 



DICK'S 

HAND-BOOK 

OF 

WHIST. 



Lora Whist is played by four persons, with a pack of fifty-two 
cards. The order and value of the cards is as follows : Ace is highest 
in play and lowest in cutting. Then follow King, Queen, Knave, Ten, 
iNine, Eight, Seven, Six, Five, Four, Three, Two, the lowest. The four 
players divide themselves into two parties, each player sitting opposite 
his partner. The division is usually determined by cutting the cards, 
the two highest and the two lowest being partners ; or the partnership 
may be settled by each player drawing a card from the pack spread out 
on the table. The holder of the lowest card is the dealer, 

DEALING. 

The dealer delivers to each player in rotation, beginning with the 
player to his left, one card at a time until the whole pack is dealt out ; 
thus giving to each player thirteen cards. The last card (the tramp 
card) is turned face upwards on the table, where it remains until it is the 
turn of dealer to play to the first trick, the dealer should then Cbefora 
playing) take the trump card into his hand, 

PLAYING THE HAND. 

When the deal has been completed, and the players have arranged 
their cards, the eldest hand leads any card he pleases, each player plays 
-a card to the lead, and the highest card of the suit led wins the trick. 
Trumps win all other suits. Each player must follow suit if he can, but 
if not able, to follow suit, he may play any card he chooses. The win.- 



2 WHIST. 

ner of the trick plays to the next, and so on, nntil the thirteen tricks are 
played. A second deal then occurs, and so the game proceeds. 

SCORING. 

The game consists of ten points. Each trick, above six, connts one 
point. 

The Ace, King, Qneen and Knave of trumps are Honors, and are thus 
reckoned : 

If a player and his partner, either separately or conjointly, hold — 

I. The four honors, they score four points. 

II. Any three honors, they score two points. 

III. Only two honors, they do not score. 

Honors mnst be claimed before the trump card of the following hand 
is turned up, or they cannot be scored. To score honors is not sufficient ; 
they must be called at the end of the hand ; if so called, they may be 
scored at any time during the game. 

"WTien either side is at eight points, that side has the privilege of call- 
ing and scoring honors before the hand is played; but the honors must 
be called and shown before the player (who calls) leads or plays, or they 
cannot be claimed until the play of the hand is completed. A player 
who holds two honors (at the score of eight) when it is Ms turn to play 
(but before playing), asks his partner, xc Can you one ? " or, " Have you 
an honor?" If his partner holds the requisite court card, the honors are 
then shown, the points scored, and the game ended. The holder of a 
single honor must not inquire of his partner if he has two. 

If any one calls after having played, or reminds his partner of calling, 
after the deal is completed, the adversaries may claim a fresh deal. 

If any one calls without having two honors, or without being at the 
score of eight, or shall answer the call without having an honor, the ad- 
versaries may consult as to a fresh deal, reclaiming their hands if thrown 
down. 

If a player whose side is at the score of eight, holds three or four 
honors in his own hand, he may show and score them, when it is his 
turn to play, and thus end the game. . 

At nine points honors do not count. 

The penalty for a revoke takes precedence of all other scores, tricks 
score next, and honors last. At the score of eight, however, honors 
count before tricks, provided they are properly called and shown, but 
not otherwise. 

The game is usually marked on th$ table by coins or counters. Many 
pretty little contrivances have been invented as "Whist>»markexs ; but if 



WHIST. o 

coins be used, the following is the simplest way of arranging them in 
order to denote the score : 

1 234 5 678 9 

O 

o o oo ooo o 
o oo ooo oooo oo ooo ooo 

It will be seen that the unit when above stands for three, when below 
for Jive. 

SHOET WHIST. 

The works on "Whist by " Cavendish/' Clay, Pole, Bray son, and other 
accepted modern writers, all treat of Short "Whist. This is the game 
now universally played in England at the clubs and in fashionable 
circles ; and no writer of any importance has written about the old ten- 
point game since the time of Matthews. It is scarcely necessary to ex- 
pend much time in describing Short Whist, its principles being almost 
identical with those of the older game. 

Short Whist is not much played in the United States. Seven-point 
"Whist is the popular game here, that is, seven points up without scoring 
honors. This is sometimes improperly called Short Whist. 

The game of Short Whist is five points with honors, and is often de- 
cided in one hand. The other points of difference between that and the 
old game are as follows : 

I. There is no calling out for honors. 

II. Single, double and treble games are scored. {See Laws 1 to 12.) 

III. A rubber is the best two out of three games; and the winners of 
the rubber gain two points (called rubber points) in addition to the value 
of their games. 

It will be seen upon examination of Law 8 that one side might gain 
two single games of one point each, which would be more than offset if 
their adversaries were to win a treble, or game of three points. The 
rubber points are intended to remedy this inequality. 

The laws which we herewith give are from the English Club code, and 
are in accordance with the usages of Short Whist. The references in 
brackets and explanatory foot-notes are by " Cavendish/' 

THE LAWS OF WHIST. 

THE ETJBBER. 

1. The rubber is the best of three games. If the first two games be 
won by the same players, the third game is not played. 



"WHIST. 



SCOKESTG. 



2. A game consists of five points. Each trick, above six, counts one 
point. 

3. Honors, i. e., Ace, King, Queen and Koave of trumps are thus reck- 
oned: 

If a player and his partner, either separately or conjointly, hold — 

I. The four honors, they score four points. 

II. Any three honors, they score two pGints. 

III. Only two honors, they do not score. 

4. Those players, who, at the commencement of a deal, are at the 
score of four, cannot score honors. 

5. The penalty for a revoke (See Law 72), takes precedence of all 
other scores. Tricks score next. Honors last. 

6. Honors, unless claimed before the trump card of the following deal 
is turned up, cannot be scored. 

7. To score honors is not sufficient ; they must be called at the end of 
the hand ; if so called, they may be scored at any time during the game. 

8. The winners gain — 

I. A treble, or game of three points, when their adversaries have not 
scored. 

II. A double, or game of two points, when their adversaries have 
scored less than three. 

III. A single, or game of one point, when then* adversaries have scored 
three or four. 

9. The winners of the rubber gain two points (commonly called the 
rubber points), in addition to the value of their games. 

10. Should the rubber have consisted of three games, the value of the 
losers' game is deducted from the gross number of points gained by their 
opponents. 

11. If an erroneous score be proved, such mistake can be corrected 
prior to the conclusion of the game in which it occurred, and such game is 
not concluded until the trump card of the following deal has been turned up. 

1.3. If an erroneous score, affecting the amount of the rubber, 1 be 
I roved, euch mistake can be rectified at any time during the rubber. 

CUTTING. 

13. The Ace is the lowest card. 

14. In all cases, every one must cut from the same pack. 

15. Should a player expose more than one card, he must cut again, 
i e. g. If a single is scored by mistake for a double or treble, or vice versa. 



WHIST. 5 

FORMATION OP TABLE. 

16. If there are more than four candidates, the players are selected by 
cutting ; those first in the room having the preference. The four who cut 
the lowest cards play first, and again cut to decide on partners ; the two 
lowest play against the two highest ; the lowest is the dealer, who has 
choice of cards and seats, and, having once made his selection, must 
abide by it. 

17. When there are more than six candidates, those who cut the two 
next lowest cards belong to the table, which is complete with six players; 
on the retirement of one of those six players, the candidate who cut the 
next lowest card, has a prior right to any aftercomer to enter the table. 

CUTTING CARDS OF EQUAL VALUE. 

18. Two players cutting cards of equal value, 1 unless such cards are 
the two highest, cut again ; should they be the two lowest, a fresh cut is 
necessary to decide which of those two deals. 2 

19. Three players cutting cards of equal value cut again ; should the 
fourth (or remaining) card be the highest, the two lowest of the new cut 
are partners, the lower of those two the dealer ; should the fourth card 
be the lowest, the two highest are partners, the original lowest the dealer. 3 

CUTTING OUT. 

20. At the end of a rubber, should admission be claimed "by any one, 
or by two candidates, he who has, or they who have played a greater 
number of consecutive rubbers than the others is, or are, out ; but when 
all have played the same number, they must cut to decide upon the out- 
goers ; the highest are out. 

ENTRY AND RE-ENTRY. 

21. A candidate wishing to enter a table must declare such intention 

1 In cutting for partners. 

2 Example. A Three, two Sixes, and a Knave are cut. The two Sixes cut again and 
the lowest plays with the Three. Suppose at the second cut, the two Sixes cut a 
King and a Qucjen, the Queen plays with, iho Three. 

If, at the second cut, a lower card than the Three is cut, the Three still retains its 
privileges as original low, and has the deal and choice of cards and seats. 

3 Example. Three Aces and a Two are cut. The three Aces are cut again. The 
Two is the original high, and plays with the highest of the next cut. 

Suppose, at the second cut, two mere Twos and a King are drawn. The King 
plays with the original two, and the other pair of Twos cut again for deal. 

Suppose instead, the second cut to consist of an Ace and two Knaves. The two 
Knaves cut again, and the highest plays with the Two. 



6 WHIST. 

prior to any of the players having cnt a card, either for the purpose of 
commencing a fresh rubber or of cutting out. 

22. In the formation of fresh tables, those candidates who have neither 
belonged to ncr played at any other table have the prior right of entry; 
the others decide their right of admission by cutting. 

23. Any one quitting a table prior to the conclusion of a rubber may, 
-with consent of the other three players, appoint a substitute in his 
absence during that rubber. 

24. A player cutting into one table, whilst belonging to another, loses 
Ms right 1 of re-entry into the latter, and takes his chance of cutting in, 
as if he were a fresh candidate. 2 

25. If any one break up a table, the remaining players have the prior 
right to him of entry into any other, and should there not be sufficient 
vacancies at such other table to admit all those candidates, they settle 
their precedence by cutting. 

SHUFFLING. 

26. The pack must neither be shuffled below the table nor so that the 
face of any card be seen. 

27. The pack must not be shuffled during the play of the hand. 

28. A pack, having been played with, must neither be shuffled, by 
dealing it into packets, nor across the table. 

29. Each player has a right to shuffle, once only, except as provided 
by Rule 32, prior to a deal, after a false cut (see Law 34), or when a new 
deal (see Law 37) has occurred. 

30. The dealer's partner must collect the cards for the ensuing deal, 
and has the first right to shuffle that pack. 

31. Each player after shuffling must place the cards, properly collected 
and face downwards, to the left of the player about to deal. 

32. The dealer has always the right to shuffle last ; but should a card 
or cards be seen during his shuffling or whilst giving the pack to be cut, 
he may be compelled to re-shuffle. 

THE DEAL. 

33. Each player deals in his turn ; the right of dealing goes to the left. 

34. The player on the dealer's right cuts the pack, and in dividing it 
must not leave fewer than four cards in either packet ; if in cutting, or in 
replacing one of the two packets on the other, a card be exposed, 3 or if 

1 i. e. His prior right. 

3 And last in the room (vide Law 16). 

8 After the two packets have been re-united, Law 38 comes into operation. 



WHIST. 7 

there be any confusion of the cards, or a doubt as to the exact place in 
which the pack was divided, there must be a fresh cut. 

35. "When a player, whose duty it is to cut, has once separated the 
pack, he cannot alter his intention; he can neither re-shuffle nor re-cut 
the cards. 

36. "When the pack is cut, should the dealer shuffle the cards, he loses 
his deal. 

a :new deal. 

37. There must be a new deal 1 — 

I. If during a deal, or during the play of a hand, the pack be proved 
incorrect or imperfect. 

II. If any card, excepting the last, be faced in the pack. 

38. If, whilst dealing, a card be exposed by the dealer or his partner, 
should neither of the adversaries have touched the cards, the latter can 
claim a new deal ; a card exposed by either adversary gives that claim to 
the dealer, provided that his partner has not touched a card; if a new 
deal does not take place, the exposed card cannot be called. 

39. If, during dealing, a player touch any of his cards, the adversa- 
ries may do the same, without losing their privilege of claiming a new 
deal, should chance give them such option. 

40. If, in dealing, one of the last cards be exposed, and the dealer turn 
up the trump before there is reasonable time for his adversaries to decide 
as to a fresh deal, they do not thereby lose their privilege. 

41. If a player, whilst dealing, look at the trump card his adversaries 
have a right to see it, and may exact a new deal. 

42. If a player take into the hand dealt to him a card belonging to the 
other pack, the adversaries, on discovery of the error, may decide whether 
they will have a fresh deal or not. 

A MISDEAL. 

43. A misdeal loses the deal. 2 

44. It is a misdeal 3 — 

I. Unless the cards are dealt into four packets, one at a time in regular 
rotation, beginning with the player to the dealer's left. 

II. Should the dealer place the last (i. e. the trump) card, face down- 
wards, on his own or any other pack. 

III. Should the trump card not come in its regular order to the dealer ; 
but he does not lose his deal if the pack be proved imperfect. 

1 i. e. The same dealer must deal again. Vide also Laws 47 and 50. 

2 Except as provided in Laws 45 and 50, 
8 See also Law 36. 



8 WHIST. 

IV. Should a player have fourteen 1 cards, and either of the othe* 
three less than thirteen. 2 

Y. Should the dealer, under an impression that he has made a re- 
count the card j en the tabic cr the remainder of the pack. 

VL Should the dealer deal two cards at once, cr two cards to the same 

1, and then deal ; hut if, prior t mas third card, tne 

dealer can, by altering the position of one card only, rectify such error, 

he may do so, except as provided by the second paragraph of this Law. 

VII. Should the dealer emit to have the pack cut to him, and the ad- 
versaries discover the error, prior to the trump card being turned up, and 
before looking at their cards, but not after having done so. 

45. A misdeal does not lose the deal if, during the dealing, either of 
the adversaries touch the cards prior to the dealer's partner having dene 
so ; but should the latter have first interfered with the cards, notwith- 
standing cither or both of the adversaries have subsequently done the 
same, the deal is lost. 

43. Should three players have their right number of cards — the fourth 
have less than thirteen, and not discover such deficiency until he has 
played any cf his cards, G the deal stands good ; should he have played, 
he is as answerable for any revoke he may have made as if the missing 
card, or cards, had been in his hand; 4 he may search the other pack for 
it, or them. 

47. If a pack, during or after a rubber, be proved incorrect or imper- 
fect, such proof decs net alter any past score, game, cr rubber : that 
hand in which the imperfection was detected is null and void ; the dealer 
deals again. 

43. Any one dealing cut cf turn, or with the adversary's cards, may 
be stopped before the trump card is turned up, after which the game 
must proceed as if no mistake had been made. 

49. A player can neither shuQe, cut, nor deal for his partner, without 
the permission of his opponents. 

CO. If the adversaries interrupt a dealer whilst dealing, either by ques- 
tioning the sccre or asserting that it is not his deal, and fail to establish 
'sal occur, he may deal again. 

51. or take his partner's deed and misdeal, the latter is 

- to the 7 Laity, and the adversary next in rotation to the 

player who ought to have dealt then do. 

1 Or more. 

2 The pack being perfect. See Law 47. 

3 i.e. Until after he has played to the first trick. 
* Vide also Law 70, and Law 44, paragraph iv. 



WHIST. 9 

THE TRUMP CARD. 

52. The dealer, when it is his turn to play to the first trick, should 

p card into his hand; if left on the table after the first trick 
I and quitted, it is liable to be called; 1 his partner may at any 
time remind him of the liability. 

53. After the dealer has taken the trump card into his hand, it cannot 
be asked for; 2 a player naming it at any time during the play of that 
hand, is liable to have his highest or lowest trump called. 3 

54. If the dealer take the trump card into his hand before it is his turn 
to play, he may be desired to lay it on the table ; should he show a 
wrong card, this card may be called, as also a second, a third, etc., until 
the trump card be produced. 

55. If the dealer declare himself unable to recollect the trump card, 
his highest or lowest trump may be called at any time during that hand, 
and unless it cause him to revoke, must be played ; the call may be re- 
peated, but not changed, i. e. y from highest to lowest, or vice versd, 
until such card is played. 

CARDS LIABLE TO BE CALLED. 

56. All exposed cards are liable to be called, and must be left 4 on the 
table ; but a card is not an exposed card when dropped on the floor, or 
elsewhere below the table. 

The following are exposed 5 cards: — 

I. Two or more cards played at once. 6 

II. Any card dropped with its face upwards, or in any way exposed 
on or above the table, even though snatched up so quickly that no one 
can name it. 

57. If any one play to an imperfect trick the best card on the table, 7 
or lead one which is a winning card as against his adversaries, and then 
lead again, 8 or play several such winning cards, one after the other, 
without waiting for his partner to play, the latter may be called on to 

1 It is not usual to call the trump card if left on the table. 
may inquire what the trump suit is, at any time. 
;.nner described in Law C5. 
/arils, 

•ds, (i. e., cards taken out of the hand, but not dropped) are not 
led unless named; vide Law GO. Ifc is important to distinguish be- 
I detached cards. 

6 1 1 >re cards are played at once, the adversaries have a right to call 
which they please to the trick in course of play, and afterwards to call the others. 

7 And then load without waiting for his partner to play, 

8 Without waiting for his partner to play. 



10 WHIST. 

win, if he can, the first or any other of those tricks, and the other cards 
thns improperly played are exposed cards. 

58. If a player, or players, under the impression that the game is lost, 
or won, or for other reasons, throw his or their cards on the table face 
upwards, such cards are exposed, and liable to be called, each player's 
by the adversary; but should one player alone retain his hand, he cannot 
be forced to abandon it. 

59. If all four players throw their cards on the table face upwards, the 
hands are abandoned; and no one can again take up his cards. Should 
this general exhibition show that the game might have been saved, or 
won, neither claim can be entertained, unless a revoke be established. 
The revoking players are then liable to the following penalties : They 
cannot under any circumstances win the game by the result of that hand, 
and the adversaries may add three to their score, or deduct three from 
that of the revoking players. 

60. A card detached from the rest of the hand so as to be named is 
liable to be called; but should the adversary name a wrong card, he is 
liable to have a suit called when he or his partner have the lead. 1 

61. If a player, who has rendered himself liable to have the highest 
or lowest of a suit called, fail to play as desired, or if when called on to 
lead one suit, lead another, having in his hand one or more cards of that 
suit demanded, he incurs the penalty of a revoke. 

62. If any player lead out of turn, his adversaries may either call the 
card erroneously led ; or may call a suit from him or his partner when it 
is next the turn of either of them 2 to lead. 

63. If any player lead out of turn, and the other three have followed 
him, the trick is complete, and the error cannot be rectified ; but if only 
the second, or the second and third have played to the false lead, their 
cards, on discovery of the mistake, are taken back ; there is no penalty 
against any one, excepting the original offender, whose card may be 
called — or he, or his partner, when either of them 3 has next the lead, 
may be compelled to play any suit demanded by the adversaries. 

64. In no case can a player be compelled to play a card which would 
oblige him to revoke. 

1 i. e. The first time that side obtains the lead. 

2 i. e. The penalty of calling a suit must be exacted from whichever of them next 
first obi ains the lead. It follows that if the player who leads out of turn is the 
partner of the person who ought to have led, and a suit is called, it must be called 
at once from the right leader. If he is allowed to play as he pleases, the only penalty 
that remains is to call the card erroneously led. 

8 i. e. Whichever of them next first has the lead. 



WHIST. 11 

65. The call of a card may be repeated 1 until such card has been 
played. 

66. If a player called on to lead a suit have none of it, the penalty is 
paid. 

CAEDS PLAYED IN EEEOE, OE NOT PLAYED TO A TEICK. 

67. If the third hand play before the second, the fourth hand may play 
before his partner. 

68. Should the third hand not have played, and the fourth play before 
his partner, the latter may be called on to win, or not to win the trick. 

69. If any one omit playing to a former trick, and such error be not 
discovered until he has played to the next, the adversaries may claim a 
new deal ; should they decide that the deal stand good, the surplus card 
at the end of the hand is considered to have been played to the imperfect 
trick, but does not constitute a revoke therein. 

70. If any one play two cards to the same trick, or mix his trump, or 
other card, with a trick to which it does not properly belong, and the 
mistake be not discovered until the hand is played out, he is answerable 
for all consequent revokes he may have made. (See also Law 46. ) If, 
during the play of the hand, the error be detected, the tricks may be 
counted face downwards, in order to ascertain whether there be among 
them a card too many ; should this be the case, they may be searched, 
and the card restored ; the player is, however, liable for all revokes which 
he may have meanwhile made. 

THE EEVOKE. 

71. Is when a player, holding one or more cards of the suit led, plays 
a card of a different suit. (See also Law 61.) 

72. The penalty for a revoke : 

I. Is at the option of the adversaries, who at the end of the hand may 
either take three tricks from the revoking player, 2 or deduct three points 
from his score, or add three to their own score. 

JT. Can be claimed for as many revokes as occur during the hand. 

HI. Is applicable only to the score of the game in which it occurs. 
* IT. Cannot be divided, i. e. y a player cannot add one or two to his 
own score and deduct one or two from the revoking player. 

Y. Takes precedence of every other score, e. g. — The claimants two — ■ 
their opponents nothing— the former add three to their scare— and thereby 

1 At every trick. 

8 And add them to their own, 



12 WHIST. 

win a treble game, even should the latter have made thirteen tricks, and 
held four honors. 

73. A revoke is established, if the trick in which it occur be turned 
quitted, i. c, the hand removed from that trick after it has been 

turned face- downwards on the table — or if either the revol 
his partner, whether in his right turn or otherwise, lead 
following trick. 

74. A player may ask his partner whether he has not a card of the suit 
which he has renounced ; should the question be asked before the trick 
is turned and quitted, subsequent turning and quitting does not establish 
the revoke, and the error may be corrected, unless the question be an- 
swered in the negative, or unless the revoking player or his partner have 
led or played to the following trick. 

75. At the end of the hand, the claimants of a revoke may search all 
the tricks. {See Law 77.) 

78. If a player discover his mistake in time to save a revoke, the adver- 
saries, whenever they think fit, may call the card thus played in error, or 
may require him to play his highest or lowest card to that trick, in w. 
he has renounced ; any player or players who have played after him may 
withdraw their cards and substitute others ; the cards withdrawn are not 
liable to be called. 

77. If a revoke be claimed, and the accused player or his partner mix 
the cards before they have been sufficiently examined by the ace 

the revoke is established. The mixing of the cards only r< 

proof of a revoke difficult ; but does not prevent the claim, and possible 

establishment, of the penalty. 

78. A revoke cannot be claimed after the cards have been cut for the 
following deal. 

79. The revoking player and his partner may, under all circumstances, 
require the hand in which the revoke has been detected to be pL 
out. 

80. If a revoke occur, be claimed and proved, bets on the odd trick, cr 
on amount of score, must be decided by the actual state cf the la 

the penalty is paid. 

81. Should the players on both sides subject themselves t ralty 
of one or more revokes, neither can win the game ; each is punished at 
the discretion of his adversary. 1 

82. In whatever way the penalty be enforced, under no circumstances 
*».an a player win the game by the result of the hand dming which he 
nas revoked ; he cannot score more than four, ( Vide Rule 61,) 

1 In the manner prescribed in Law 72. 



WHIST. 1J 

CALLING EOB NEW CAKDS. 

83. Any player (on paying for them) before, but not after, the pack be 
cut for the deal, may call for fresh cards. He must call for two new 
packs, of which the dealer takes his choice. 

GEKEEAL EXILES. 

84. Where a player and his partner have an option of exacting from 
their adversaries one of two penalties, they should agree who is to make 
the election, but must not consult with one another which of the two 
penalties it is advisable to exact; if they do so consult, they lose their 
right ; 1 and if either of them, with or without consent of his partner, de- 
mand a penalty to which he is entitled, such decision is final. 

This rule does not apply in exacting the penalties for a revoke ; partners have 
then a right to consult. 

85. Any one during the play of a trick, or after the four cards are 
played, and before, but not after they are touched for the purpose of 
gathering them together, may demand that the cards be placed before 
their respective players. 

83. If any one, prior to Ms partner playing, should call attention to 
the trick — either by saying that it is his, or by naming his card, or, 
without being required so to do, by drawing it towards him — the adver- 
saries may require that opponent's partner to play the highest or lowest 
of the suit then led, or to win or lose 2 the trick. 

87. In all cases where a penalty has been incurred, the offender is 
bound to give reasonable time for the decision of his adversaries. 

88. If a bystander make any remark which calls the attention of a 
player or players to an oversight affecting the score, he is liable to be 
called on, by the players only, to pay the stakes and all bets on that 
game or rubber. 

83. A bystander, by agreement among the players, may decide any 
question. 

90. A card or cards torn or marked, must be either replaced by agree- 
ment, or new cards called at the expense of the table. 

01. Any player may demand to see the last trick turned, and no more. 
Under no circumstances can more than eight cards be seen curing the 
play of the hand, viz. : the four cards on the table which have not bee. 
turned and quitted, and the last trick turned, 

i To demand any penalty. 
a i.e. Eefrain from winning. 



14 WHIST. 

ETIQUETTE OF WHIST. ^ 

The following rules belong to the establisted Etiquette of Whist. 
They are not called laws, as it is difficult, iu some cases impossible, to 
apply any penalty to their infraction, and the only remedy is to cease to 
play with players who habitually disregard them : 

Two packs of cards are invariably used at Clubs : if possible, this 
should be adhered to. 

Any one, having the lead and several winning cards to play, should 
not draw a second card out of his hand until his partner has played to 
the first trick, such act being a distinct intimation that the former has 
played a winning card. 

No intimation whatever, by word or gesture, should be given by a 
player as to the state of his hand, or of the game. 1 

A player who desires the cards to be placed, or who demands to see 
the last trick, 2 should do it for his own information only, and not in 
order to invite the attention of his partner. 

No player should object to refer to a bystander who professes himself 
uninterested in the game, and able to decide any disputed question of 
facts; as to who played any particular card — whether honors were 
claimed though not scored, or vice versd, etc., etc. 

It is unfair to revoke purposely ; having made a revoke, a player is 
not justified in making a second in order to conceal the first. 

Until the players have made such bets as they wish, bets should not 
be made with bystanders. 

Bystanders should make no remark, neither should they by word or 
gesture give any intimation of the state of the game until concluded 
and scored, nor should they walk round the table to look at the different 
hands,, 

No one should look over the r hand of a player against whom he is 
betting. 

TECHNICAL TERMS USED IN THE MODERN SCIENTIFIC GAME. 

Command. — Tou are said to have the command of a suit when you 
hold the best cards in it. If you have sufficient of them to be able to 
draw all those in the other hands (as would probably be the case if you 
had Ace, King, Queen, and two others), the command is complete; if 
not, it may be only partial or temporary. Commanding cards are the 
cards which give you the command. 

1 The question, " Who dealt ?" is irregular, and if asked should not be answered 

a Or who asks what the trump suit is. 



WHIST. 15 

Doubtful Card.— A card of a suit of which your partner may have 
the best. 

Establish. — A suit is said to "be established when you held the com- 
plete command of it. This may sometimes happen to be the case 
originally, but it is more common to obtain it in the course of the play 
by " clearing" away the cards that obstructed you, so as to remain with 
Irhe best in your hand. It is highly desirable to establish your long suit 
as soon as you can, for which purpose not only your adversaries' hands, 
but also your partner's, must be cleared from the obstructing cards. 

Finessing is an attempt, by the third player, to make a lower card 
answer the purpose of a higher (which it is usually his duty to play) 
Under the hope that an intermediate card may not lie to his left hand. 
Thus, having Ace and Queen of your partner's lead, you finesse the 
Queen, hoping the fourth player may not hold the King. Or, if your 
partner leads a Knave, and you hold the King, you may finesse or pass 
the Knave, i. e., play a small card to it, under the hope that it may force 
the Ace. 

Forcing means obliging your partner or your adversary to trump a 
trick, by leading a suit of which they have none. 

Leading Tnrough or Up To.— If you play first you are said to lead 
through your left-hand adversary, and up to your right-hand adversary. 

Master Card, or Best Card. — This means the highest card of the suit 
in at the time. Thus, if the Ace and King were out, the master card 
would be the Queen. 

Bcnounce. — "When a player has none of the suit led he is said to re- 
nounce that suit. 

Revoke. — If he fails to follow suit when he lias any of the suit, he 
revokes and incurs a serious penalty. 

Seesaw, or sate, is when each of two partners ruffs a different suit, so 
that they may lead alternately into each other's hands. 

Signal for Trumps. — Throwing away, unnecessarily and contrary to 
ordinary play, a high card before a low one, is called the signal for 
trumps, or asking for trumps ; being a command to your partner to lead 
trumps the first opportunity — a command which, in the modem scien- 
tific game, he is bound to obey, whatever his own hand may be. 

Singleton. — Having one card only in a suit. 

Strengthening Flay. — This is getting rid of high cards in any suit, 
the effect of which is to give an improved value to the lower cards of 
that suit still remaining in, and so to strengthen the hand that holds 
them. Strengthening play is best for the hand that is longest in the suit. 

Strong Suit — "Cavendish " says ; "A suit may be strong in two dis- 



16 WHIST. 

tinct ways. 1. It may contain more than its proportion of high cards. 
For example, it may contain two or more honors, one honor in each suit 
being the average for each hand. 2. It may consist of more than the 
average number of cards, in which case it is numerically strong. Thus 
a suit of four cards has numerical strength; a suit of five cards great 
numerical strength. On the other hand a suit of three cards is numeri- 
cally weak. 

"Suppose, for example, you have five cards headed by, say, a Ten in 
one suit, and Ace, King, and one other, say the Two, in another suit. 
If you lead from the Ace, King, Two suit, all your power is exhausted as 
soon as you have parted with the Ace and King, and you have given 
the holder of numerical strength a capital chance of establishing the 
suit. It is true that this fortunate person way be your partner; but it 
is twice as likely that he is your adversary, since you have two adversaries 
and only one partner. On the other hand, if you lead from the five suit, 
though your chance of establishing it is slight, you at all events avoid 
assisting your adversary to establish his ; the Ace and King of your 
three suit, still remaining in your hand, enable you to prevent the 
establishment of that suit, and may procure you the lead at an advanced 
period of the hand." 

The best suit of all to lead from is, of course, one which combines 
both elements of strength. 

Tenace. — The best and third best card left in any suit, as Ace and 
Queen, which is the major tenace. If both these cards have already 
been played, the King and Knave then become the tenace in the suit, 
and so on. 

Underplay. — This usually signifies keeping back best cards, and play- 
ing subordinate ones instead. This is sometimes advantageous in trumps, 
or in plain suits when strong in trumps, or when trumps are out ; but 
it requires care and judgment to avoid evil consequences from deceiving 
your partner ; and from having your best cards subsequently trumped. 

DEATSO^ ON TEUMPS. 

Authorities in Whist, such as " Cavendish," Clay and Pole, all agree 
in the maxim that it is not good policy, when weak in trumps yourself, 
to force your partner. In a very recent work on this subject, by Col. A. 
W. Drayson, E. A., this idea is denounced as incorrect, and very plausi- 
ble reasons adduced in support of his theory. The three following 
articles on " Trumps ; their Use and Abuse," "Asking for T'^mps," and 
x The Echo," are extracted from Col. Dray son's work, 



WHIST. 17 

TKUMPS, THEIE USE &NT> ABUSE. 

It has been stated that the first use of trumps is to extract your adver- 
saries 1 trumps in order that you may bring in your own or your part- 
ner's long suit This application of trumps must be good for one side 
only, viz., that side which possesses long suits. This side wishes to ex- 
tract the trumps. Then it follows that the other two partners cannot 
wish trumps to be drawn. If trumps are not drawn, the . long suits will 
be ruffed. So whilst that side holding the long suits wishes trumps to be 
drawn, the other side do not and cannot wish it ; for it is impossible in a 
battle that what is advantageous for one side is also advantageous for the 
other. 

If, then, you are not strong enough to extract trumps and establish 
your own strong suit, it follows as almost certain that the adversaries are 
strong enough to extract your trumps and establish their strong suit ; 
consequently the best use you can put your trumps to is to win tricks 
with them by ruffing the adversaries' winning cards if you are given a 
chance of doing so. This fact being established, I now come to a prin- 
ciple which has been laid down by former writers on "Whist, but which 
seems to have been practically misapplied by many orthodox players. I 
refer to the heading, "Do not force your partner, if you are weak in 
frumps." 

Following this direction, many players will never force their partner if 
they are weak in trumps, and thus many a trick and many a rubber is 
J.ost. If I were to enumerate the number of rubbers I have seen lost by 
me player weak in trumps refusing to force his partner, I should count 
them by thousands. I have therefore often remarked to such partners, 
when they have urged that they could not force me, as they were weak 
in trumps, " Say, you would not allow me to make a trick in trumps, 
because you were weak in them." 

Under the heading quoted above, former writers have carefully pointed 
out when you may force your partner, although you are yourself weak ; 
viz., when he has shown a desire to be forced, or weakness in trumps ; 
when you have a cross ruff; when strength in trumps has been declared 
against you, and when one trick will win or save the game. To refuse 
to force your partner merely because you are yourself weak, I consider a 
most dangerous game. You, in the first place, refuse to allow your part- 
ner to win a trick by trumping. That is, you throw away a trick for some 
object, and what is this object ? If it be merely to inform your partner 
and adversaries that you are weak, the information is dearly purchased. 
If it be because you fear to reduce your partner's strength in trumps, you 



18 TVHIST. 

must have assumed that he is very strong in trumps ; strong enough, if 
not forced, to extract the adversaries' trumps and establish a long suit. 
Then comes the inquiry, what right have you to assume such strength in 
your partner's hand ? If he has neither ashed for trumps nor has dis- 
carded a card which may be the commencement of an asJcfor trumps, 
you, by refusing to give him the option of a rmT, practically say, " I vail 
not give you the chance of making a small trump, because I am weak in 
them." Immediately the adversaries gain the lead, they extract all your 
and your partner's trumps, and make the card or cards which your part- 
ner might otherwise have ruffed. Do not run away with the idea that to 
refuse to force your partner because you are weak in trumps is a safe 
game. It is a dangerous game, because you are refusing to make a cer 
tain trick on the speculation that you may probably win more by so dol- 
ing; if your speculation is incorrect, you lose by your reticence. 

If you have any doubt about this question, deal out the cards for a 
few hands of double dumby, and note in how many instances you 
would lose a game which you might have saved had you forced your 
partner. 

As a simple example of such a hand, take the following. You hold : 
Knave, Five and Three of Spades (trumps) ; Ace, Queen, Knave, Five 
and Two of Hearts ; Ace and Two of Clubs ; King, Four and Three of 
Diamonds. Score, love all. 

It is your lead, and you commence with the Ace of Hearts, to which 
your partner plays the Two. You follow with the Knave, on which 
second player plays King, your partner drops Ten, and third player a 
small Heart. Your partner, therefore, has not asked for trumps, and he 
probably holds no more Hearts. Left-hand adversary leads a small Club, 
partner plays another small Club, third hand plays Knave, you win 
with Ace, and return Ten of Clubs, which your partner wins with 
King. 

Your partner will now fairly conclude that you have no more Clubs, 
but he is weak in trumps, holding three only, the highest the Ten ; so he 
leads a Diamond, as he considers he is bound not to force you, because 
he is weak m trumps. Your King of Diamonds played third in hand is 
taken by the Ace. Adversaries then make Ace, King, Queen of trumps, 
Queen, Knave of Diamonds, Queen of Clubs, and thirteenth trump— nine 
tricks ; that is, three by cards, two by honors, a treble. 

Under such circumstances, your partner will probably say, "Of 
course I could not force you in Clubs, as 1 was so weak in trumps/' 
whereas he should have seen that by your original lead you had yourself 
shown no strength in trumps, so to make a trick in trumps was all you 



WHIST. 19 

could hopo to do. Also to lead from a suit of Diamonds, in which he 
had no court card, was rash in the extreme. Yet such is the almost 
certain play of the individual who is fettered by the idea that he cannot 
f jrce his partner if weak in trumps. Had he led a Club/ you would 
have rmTed this, you then lead him a Heart, which he ruffs, and you 
have made iive tricks and saved the game. Each has forced the other, 
though weak in trumps. 

I would, therefore, after carefully weighing all the arguments that 
have been urged by former writers, and comparing these with the re- 
sults of my own experience in Whist, be disposed to reverse the direc- 
tions connected with forcing, and say, Unless your partner has shown 
great strength in trumps, a wish to get them drawn, or has refused to 
ruff a doubtful card, give him the option of making a small trump, un- 
less you have some good reason for not doing so, other than a weak 
suit of trumps in your own hand. 

Many players have asked me, how they can possibly tell at the com- 
mencement of a hand, whether they should, or should not, force me 
when they are weak in trumps. 

I have always given the following as that which should guide them: 
Suppose you hold Ace, King, and three other Hearts, two small trumps, 
and no other winning cards. You lead King of Hearts ; on this I play 
the Four. You then lead Ace of Hearts ; on this I throw the Two of 
Spades. My discard of the Two of Spades shows I am not asking for 
trumps ; therefore, I do not hold five trumps, nor four trumps, and two 
honors ; it therefore follows that there are at least seven trumps in the 
adversaries' hands, if not eight, and as I have by my discard shown no 
desire that trumps should be led, you would be right to force me. If to 
your Ace of Hearts I had discarded the Six, Seven, or Eight of Spades, 
you would have reason to doubt the expediency of forcing me ; for either 
of these cards might be the commencement of an ask, and you would 
be right to change the suit and wait for further information before you 
forced me. If, however, you found that even my discard of the Six was 
not an ask, you should not hesitate to give me the option of rufhng. I 
can refuse to ruff if I choose, and at a very trifling expense — viz., dis- 
carding a worthless card — but to refuse to give me a chance of making 
a small trump, merely because you are yourself weak in trumps, is, I am 
convinced, most feeble play, based on a misconception as regards the 
purpose and play of a hand. To do so implies that your partner is 
strong enough to extract trumps, and to make his or your long suit, 
when there is not the slightest evidence that should induce you to come 
to such a conclusion. 



&) WHIST. 

AS'ETN"G FOE TRUMPS, AOT> THE ECHO. 

During many years there has been a system arranged, termed "asking 
for trumps/' "the signal/' and "the blue Peter/' which indicates that 
you are strong in trumps, and that you hold either five trumps, 
or four trumps and two honors, and that it is most advantage- 
ous to your hand that your partner lead you trumps at the first oppor- 
tunity. This "ask" is indicated by your playing an unnecessarily high 
card, that is, on a trick won by Ace, third in hand, you as fourth player 
throw the Six, and next round play the Two, or, as second player, play 
the Four, and then next round, drop the Two or Three. Thus asking for 
trumps means playing a totally unnecessarily high card, when by subse- 
quent play you show you could have played a lower card. Tou must 
be careful to distinguish between a totally unnecessarily high card, and a 
card played to cover another card, or to protect your partner. If you 
hold Knave, Ten and Two of a suit, as second player, you play yo^ir 
Ten, on next round you would play your Two, if this trick was won by 
a card higher than your Knave. Your partner must not assume, from 
the fall of the Two, that you have asked for trumps'; you have simply 
played the proper card. If you wished to ask for trumps, with this 
hand you should play your Knave on the first card led. But your 
partner cannot tell until the third round of the suit, whether you have, 
or have not asked for trumps under the above conditions. Thus the 
play of the second hand must be watched carefully to note whether the 
card played is, or is not, a protecting card, and not an "ask." "With 
fourth player there is less chance of mistake, for if the trick be already 
won, and he throws a Five or any other higher card, and next round 
plays the Two or Three, it must be an ask. If the card led by the 
original leader be a high card, such as King or Ace, then the play of 
second player is not liable to be misunderstood. No player can ask for 
trumps by his lead. 

Third player may win with King when he holds Queen, or with Ace 
when he holds King, and so indicate his signal. 

It may often happen that a player with a strong hand of trumps' 
wishes them to be led to him for two reasons. First, that by the card 
his partner leads him he may ascertain or estimate his partner's strength; 
second, because the card turned to his right may enable him to safely 
finesse. Thus with Ace, Queen, Knave, and one other trump and King 
turned up to the right, it is advantageous that trumps should be led to 
this hand through the King, whereas if this hand led trumps, the King 
must make, unless Ace be led and the King is unguarded. Thus if one 
partner as> fo? trumps, the other partner should lead him the highest, if 



WHIST. , 21 

he nold three, and the lowest if he hold four trumps, unless his partner 
hold the Ace, when he should lead Ace, then lowest of the three re- 
maining. 

Those players who note carefully the fall of every card will scarcely 
ever fail to see the call, whether made by their partner or adversaries. 
Bad players sometimes excuse themselves, when they have omitted to 
notice the fall of the cards, by saying they were not looking out for it. 
Such a remark is a confession to the effect that the fall of the cards is not 
noticed, except probably the fall of Aces, Kings and Queens. 

To attempt to play Whist when you omit to notice the call for trumps 
is to play at an immense disadvantage. Nearly every moderate player 
now understands the call for trumps, so that if one player out of the four 
does not do so, he is overmatched by those who do. 

There are certain conditions of a game when one player, judging from the 
carls in his hand, may see after a few rounds that the only way of saving 
the game is to obtain a trump lead from his partner. Under such circum- 
stances he would be justified in asking for trumps, although he may not 
possess the strength indicated as that justifying an original call. You 
should therefore note the cards carefully that are played throughout the 
hand, for your partner may not have called early in the game, but may 
lo so after half the cards have been played. 

THE ECHO. 

As a sequel to the " ask for trumps," another system of play has been 
for some time adopted, by which, if your partner ask for trumps, you 
can inform him whether you hold four, or more or less than four trumps ; 
that is, either to "ask" in trumps when they are led, or ask in some 
other suit after your partner has asked. This echo is a most powerful 
aid, as it is almost certain to enable you to win an extra trick. The fol- 
lowing may serve as an example : 

Your partner holds Ace, King, Queen, and Ten of trumps ; you hold 
Nine, Five, Three, and Two. Your partner has asked for trumps, and 
immediately after leads the Queen. On this you play your Three. He 
then leads King ; on this you play your Two. He then knows you hold 
four trumps. He then leads Ace, on which you play your Five, and 
Knave falls from one adversary. Your partner now holds best trump, 
and could draw the remaining trump if it were in the adversary's hand ; 
but you by the echo have told him it is in your hand, so he will not draw 
it, and you probably make it by ruffing a losing card. Had you not 
echoed, your partner would draw this trump, as he would conclude it 
was held by the adversaries. 



22 WHIST. 

Those players who do not play the echo, must play at a disadvantage 
against those who do play it. 

It may sometimes occur that when in the first lead you have decided 
to ask for trumps, the fall of the cards shows that a trump lead is not 
desirable. For example: King of Hearts is led by your right-hand ad- 
versary. You hold five trumps, with Ace; Knave, and four small 
Hearts, and no winning cards ; you, however, commence an ask in 
trumps. To the King of Hearts your partner plays the Knave ; original 
leader follows with Ace. Tou now know that your partner can iiold 
only Queen of Hearts, and may hold no more ; so the whole Heart suit 
is against you, and your partner's trumps can be well employed in vin- 
ning tricks on Hearts j also the adversaries will probably lead trumps up 
to or through you. Instead, therefore, of completing your ask, rou 
throw a higher card than the one you played originally, and thus con- 
ceal your original intention. 

Many very good players are of opinion that the conventional ask for 
trumps has to a great extent interfered with the high art of Whist. They 
argue that formerly, when the ask was not adopted, a fine player would 
almost instinctively know when a trump was desirable, and would act 
accordingly. Now, say these objectors, the matter is made so plain by 
the ask that any common observer sees it. There may be some reasons 
for these objections; but whether or not the objections are sound, yet 
the system is played, and unless you also adopt it you will play to dis- 
advantage with those who practise it. 

It may be urged, however, that some players very often omit to notice 
the call, and therefore a certain amount of observation is necessary in 
order never to omit noticing the call, when either your partner or adver- 
saries give it. 

If you hold &ve trumps, you may echo with the lowest but two, if 
this card be a low one, and then play your lowest to next round ; your 
partner, missing the intermediate card, places five in your hand. 

POLE'S ETJLES FOR PLAYING THE MODERN SCIENTIFIC 

GAME. 

The following theory and rules for playing the Modern Game are 
derived from "The Theory of the Modern Scientific Game of Whist. " 
By William Pole, F. R. S. : 

The basis of the theory of the modern scientific game of Whist lies in 
the relations existing between the players. 

It is a fundamental feature of the construction of the game, that the 
four players are intended to act, not singly and independently, but in a 



pole's rules. 25 

double combination, two of them being partners against a partners.^ 
of the other two. And it is the full recognition of this fact, carried out 
into all the ramifications of the play, which characterizes the scientific 
game, and gives it its superiority over all others. 

Yet, obvious as this fact is, it is astonishing how imperfectly it is 
appreciated among players generally. Some ignore the partnership 
altogether, except in the mere division of the stakes, neither caring to 
help their partners or be helped by them, but playing as if each had to 
fight his battle alone. Others will go farther, giving some degree of 
consideration to the partner, but still always making their own hand 
the chief object ; and among this latter class are often found players of 
much skill and judgment, and wno pass for great adepts in the game. 

The scientific theory, however, goes much farther. It carries out the 
community of interests to the fullest extent possible. It forbids the 
player to consider his own hand apart from that of his partner but 
commands him to treat both in strict conjunction, teaching him, in fact, 
to play the two hands combined, as if they were one. For this object 
the two players enter into a system of legalized correspondence estab- 
lished for the purpose, by which each becomes informed to the fullest 
extent possible of the contents of his partner's hand, and endeavors to 
play in such manner as is best for the combination. The advantage of 
this combined principle is almost self-evident; for suppose it carried to 
an extreme by each partner seeing the other's cards, no one could 
doubt the resulting advantage ; and the modern system is as near an 
approach to this as the rules of the game will permit. 

In order that the two hands may be managed conjointly to the best 
advantage, it is requisite that each partner should adopt the same 
general system of treating his hand. For it is clear that if one player 
prefer one system, and the other a different one, such cross purposes 
must render any combination impracticable. It is necessary, therefore, 
here to explain somewhat fully what the different systems are, on which 
a hand may be treated, and to show which of them is considered the 
preferable one for adoption. 

The object, of course, is to make tricks, and tricks may be made in 
four different ways, viz. : 

1. By the natural predominance of master cards, as Aces and Kings. 
This forms the leading idea of beginners, whose notions of trick-making 
do not usually extend beyond the high cards they have happened to 
receive. But a little more knowledge and experience soon show that 
this must be made subordinate to more advanced considerations. 

2. Tricks may be also made by taking advantage of the position of 



22 WHIST. 

Thirds, so as to evade the higher ones, and make smaller ones win; 
&£, for example, in finessing, and in leading np to a weak suit. This 
method is one which, although always kept well in view by good 
players, is yet only of accidental occurrence, and therefore does not 
enter into our present discussion of the general systems of treating the 
hand. 

3. Another mode of trick-making is by trumping; a system almost as 
fascinating to beginners as the realization of master cards ; but the cor- 
rection of this predilection requires much deeper study. 

4. The fourth method of making tricks is by establishing and bringing 
in a long suit, every card of which will then make a trick, whatever be 
its value. This method, though the most scientific, is the least obvious, 
and therefore is the least practiced by young players. 

Now, the first, third, and fourth methods of making tricks may be 
said to constitute different systems, according to either of which a player 
may view his hand and regulate his play. An example will make this 
quite clear. 

Suppose the elder hand, having the first lead, receives the following 
cards : 

Hearts (Trumps) Queen, Nine, Six, Three. 

Spades King, Knave, Eight, Four, Three, Two. 

Diamonds Ace, King. 

Clubs Queen. 

He may adopt either of the three above-named views in regard to his 
hand, and the choice he makes will at once influence his first lead. 

If badly taught, he will probably adopt the first system, and lead out 
at once his Ace and King of diamonds. 

Or, if he peculiarly affect the trumping system, he will lead out the 
Queen of clubs, in hopes of ruffing the suit when it is led again. 

But, if he is a more advanced player, he will, at any rate for his first 
lead, adopt the fourth method; he will lead the smallest of his long 
suit of spades, knowing that if he can ultimately establish it and bring 
it in, he must make several tricks in it. 

The importance of a correct choice between the three systems consists 
principally in the fact alluded to above, that it directly influences the 
first lead, or what we may call (in analogy with chess) the opening of 
the game. For on the combined principle of action, the first lead is by 
far the most important one in the ichole hand, inasmuch at it is the first 
and most prominent intimation given to your partner as to the cards 
you hold. He will, if he is a good player, observe with great atten- 



POLE'S RULES. 25 

tion the card you lead, and will at once draw inferences from it 
that may perhaps influence the whole of his plans. And hence, the 
nature of the opening you adopt is of the greatest consequence to your 
joint welfare. And it is clear that, however your play may vary in the 
after-part of the hand, you must, as a general principle, adopt always 
the same opening, or it will be impossible for your partner to draw any 
inferences from it at all. 

Let us, therefore, consider how the choice between the three systems 
of play is determined. 

We may dismiss the first, or master-card system, very briefly. It ia 
evidently not good at once to lead out master cards of a suit of which 
you hold only a few ; for the reason that you can probably make them 
whenever any one else leads it, and that they will then serve as " cards' 
of re-entry," to procure you additional leads at a future period of the, 
hand, which then become peculiarly valuable, owing to the increased 
information you have obtained. Hence, the master-card system, though 
often of great use, must not be the one by which the opening of the 
game is determined. 

Between the two other systems, however, the choice is not so clear. 
It is by no means easy to prove which of them, if pursued systemati- 
cally, would in the long run be the most advantageous as regards the 
single hand ; to demonstrate this would require the study of almost 
infinite combinations of chances. But there is a conclusive argument 
p. favor of the fourth or long-suit system; namely, that, treated as a 
form of opening, it is the only one which adapts itself favorably and 
conveniently to the combination of tlie hands. 

The difficulties in the combined use of the trumping system would be 
very great. In the first place, it would not often happen that your 
hand contained a suit of one card only : you might have none of a suit, 
when you could not lead it ; your minimum might be two, when the 
policy would be doubtful ; or three, when it would be useless'. Hence 
there would be no uniformity in your opening; it would be always 
equivocal, and would consequently give your partner no information. 
Then, after leading a single card you could not yourself persevere in 
your system, or do anything more to further it; as your next lead nius£ 
be on some other ground — a complexity which would effectually pre- 
vent favorable combined action. And, thirdly, your plan would be so 
easily overthrown by the adversaries leading trumps, which, if they 
knew your system, a very moderate strength would justify them in 
doing, to your utter discomfiture. 

The long-suit opening is free from all these objections. It is uni- 



26 WHIST. 

formly practicable, as every hand must contain at least one suit of four 
cards ; you can persevere in your design every time yon get the lead, 
whether .your partner can help you or not; your indications to your 
partner are positive and unmistakable; and the adversaries are almost 
powerless to offer you any direct obstruction — their only resource being 
to bring forward counterplans of their own. 

It is sometimes alleged against the long-suit opening, that in many 
cases it cannot be followed to its conclusion, from the strength of 
trumps being against you, or from untoward fall of the cards. But 
even in this case it is still the safest, as, though it may not succeed for 
yourself, it is the way least likely to help your adversary, and indeed it 
furnishes you always with the best means of obstructing him, by forc- 
ing his hand. And it must be recollected that its adoption as an open- 
ing does not bind you always implicitly to follow it up, or in the least 
prevent you from making tricks, in the after-part of the hand, by any 
of the other modes, if you should find it to your interest to do so. Any 
master-cards you possess will take care of themselves ; and if you are 
short of a suit, and wish to trump it, you have only to wait till it is led 
by some one else, and you attain your object without misleading your 
partner. 

RULES AND DIRECTIONS FOR PLAY. 

THE LEAD. 

Let your first or principal lead be from your best long suit. 

[If you have two suits, each of more than three cards, you may prefer the one 
which is strongest in high cards ; but always avoid, if possible, an original lead from 
a suit of less than four.] 

Holding in this suit Ace and King, lead King first, then Ace. 

[This is preferable to beginning with the Ace, as it may sometimes convey useful 
information. Ko good partner would trump your King led. 
If you hold Ace, King, Queen, lead King first, then Queen, for the same reason.] 
Holding King and Queen, lead King. 

[And. if it wins, a small one, as the Ace ought to be with your partner. 
Holding King, Queen, Knave, Ten, lead the lowest of the sequence, to induce your 
partner to put on the Ace, if he has it, and leave you with the command,] 

Holding Ace, Queen, Knave, lead Ace, then Queen. 

[So as to obtain the command with the Knave. If your partner holds the King, he 
ought to put it on the Queen (if he can trust your leading from a loug suit), so as not} 
to obstruct your establishment of the suit.] 

Holding Ace and four others (not including King, or Queen "vrith 
Knave), lead Ace, then a small one. 
[To prevent the chance of your Ace being trumped second round.] 



pole's rules. 27 

Holding Queen, Knave, Ten; or Knave, Ten, Nine, at the head of you> 
suit, lead the highest. 

[It is an old and well-known rule to "lead the highest of a sequence." But like 
many other rules, when the reason of it is not comprehended, it is often totally mis- 
understood and misapplied. The obi >et of doing this is to prevent your partner from 
putting on the next highest, if he has it; but there are many cases where you ought 
to desire him to put it on, and where, consequently, the lowest ought to be played— 
as, for example, when you hold a quart to a King, as before directed. In a general 
way the rule should apply only to a high sequence heading the suit in your own hand, 
and not to low or subordinate sequences, to lead the highest of which would only de- 
ceive your partner without doing you any good. See an example in the note to the 
following rule, and also remarks on the trump lead.] 

In other cases lead the lowest card of your suit. 

[If you hold King, Knave, Ten, Nine, and a small one, lead the Nine; if King, 
Knave, Ten, and others, the Ten. These are exceptional combinations.] 

If trumps are out before you open your suit, you should lead differ- 
ently, keeping back your high cards. 

[See the rules for trump leads, page 30, which apply in a great measure to this case 
also.] 

Lead your own long suit, if you have one, before you return your 
partner's. 

[Unless you happen to hold the master-card in your partner's suit, which you 
should part with as early as you can, to get it out of your partner's way, and prevent 
his imagining it is against him.] 

In returning your partner's lead, if you held not more than three 
cards of the suit originally, always return the highest you have left. 

[To strengthen his hand, and as a conventional signal. If you originally held four, 
return the lowest, unless you hare the master-card, which play out at once, as hef 
directed. Also, if you happen to have discarded one of the four, play as if you had 
held only three.] 

It is good to lead a suit in which your right-hand, adversary is weah, 
or your left-hand strong. 

[That is, lead up to the weak suit, or through the strong one. On this principle 
avoid, if possible, returning your partner's suit, if you have won his lead cheaply. 

Indication of strength is given by the lead — of weakness, by the play of third and 
fourth hand, and by the discard.] 

If obliged to lead from a suit of less than four cards, the general rule 
is to lead the highest. 

[To inform your partner. If you have any reason to know he is long in the suit, 
the rule admits of no exception ; but if you are doubtful on this point, it may be taken 
with some reserve. For example, if you hold an honor and two small cards in a suit 
respecting which no indication lias yet been given, to lead the honor might not only 
throw away a chance of making it, but strengthen one of your adversaries.] 



*28 WHIST. 

Avoid leading a suit which one adversary raffs, and the other dis- 
cards to. 

[Unless you are sure of forcing the strong trump hand.] 

Towards the end of the hand it may often win you an extra trick to 
avoid leading from a ten ace or a " guarded second/' and to try and 
induce your left-hand adversary to lead that suit for you. 

[This is one of the points in which fine play is best shown.] 
SECOND HAND. 

The general rule for the second hand is to play your lowest. 

[For your partner has a good chance of winning the trick ; and the strength being 
on your right, it is good to reserve your high cards (particularly tenaces, such as Ace 
and Queen) for the return of the lead, when you will become fourth player. 

With one honor and one small card the best players adhere to this rule.] 

The following are some of the most usual exceptions to this rule : 

Holding Ace and King Put on King. 

Holding King and Queen .....Put on Queen. 

Holding Ace, Queen, Knave Put on Knave. 

Holding Ace, Queen, Ten Put on Queen. 

Also, if you have two high cards in sequence (as Queen and Knave, 
or Knave and Ten), with only one other; or if you have three high 
cards in sequence with any number, it is generally considered right to 
play the lowest of the sequence second hand. 

[To help your partner in case of the third hand being weak. There is, however, 

some danger of this being mistaken for the signal for trumps, and your partnrc must 
be on his guard.] 

The second round Of a suit, it is generally right to win the trick, 
second hand, if you hold the best card. 

[Great strength in trumps, however, which always warrants a backward game, 
may sometimes justify you in leaving it to your partner, particularly as you thereby 
keep the command of the adversary's suit.] 

If au honor is led, you should generally put a higher honor upon it. 

[But if you are strong in the suit, you may husband your strength and play a small 
one.J 

Do not trump a doubtful trick second hand if strong in trumps 1 
Weak, trump fearlessly. 

THIRD HAND. 

The general rule for the third hand is to play the highest you have. 

[In order not only to do your best to win the trick, but to strengthen your partner's 
long suit, by getting the high cards out of his way. 
If you have a head sequence, remember to play the lowest of it.] 



POLE'S rules. 29 

This rule is subject, however, to the peculiar attribute of the third 
hand as regards finessing. 

[To know how to finesse properly, requires great judgment and experience, but 
there are a few useful rules of general application : 

a. The first time round of a suit, if you hold Ace and Queen, you always play the 
Queen. 

b. 'With this exception, it is wron^ in principle to finesse in your partner's long 
suit, as he wants the high cards out of his way. If you see that he leads from weak- 
ness, or if he leads you strengthening cards in your oivn long suit, you may finesse 
more freely. 

c. It is dangerous to finesse the second time round of a suit, as the chances are it 
will be trumped the third time. 

d. If, however, you are strong in trumps, you may finesse much more freely, as 
your trumps may enable you to bring your high cards in. 

e. With minor tenace it is generally proper to finesse the second round, as the best 
card must probably be to your left ; and if the third best is there also, both your cards 
must be lost in any case. 

/. It is of no use to finesse, if the previous play has shown that the intermediate 
card, against which you finesse, does not lie to your right ; for in that case it must 
be either with your partner or your left-hand adversary, in either of which cases 
finessing is obviously useless. 

g. The advisableness or not of finessing in certain cases late in the hand is often 
determined by the fall of the cards or the state of the score ; e.g., when you particu- 
larly want one trick to win or save the game, or if, from what you know of your 
partner's or opponents' cards, you see you can only get one, it would be wrong to 
finesse for the chance of gaining two.] 

Be careful to watch the fall of the cards from your left-hand neighbor, 
in order that, if he proves weak in a suit, you may avoid wasting high 
cards when small ones would suffice to win the trick over him. This is 
very necessary, as your partner is often likely to lead up to the weak 
hand. 

FOURTH HAND. 

In this you have in most cases little to do but to win the trick as 

cheaply as you can. 

[And recollect if you do win it cheaply, it may afford you a good hint for a good 
lead when you are in want of one.] 

Cases sometimes arise, however, towards the close of the hand, where 
it is advisable not to win the trick. 

[As, for example, when by not doing so you can force your left-hand adversary to 
lead up to your tenace, or guarded second.] 

There are also cases in which it is advisable to win a trick already 
your partner's. 

[As, for example, to get high obstructing cards out of his way, or to enable you t3 
lead up to a weak hand, or otherwise to alter the position of the leatf 



30 WHIST. 

MANAGEMENT OF TRUMPS. 

If you have five or more trumps always lead them, or signal to your 
partner to do so. 

[For the probability is that three, or at most four rounds will exhaust those of the 
adversaries, and you Trill still have one or two left to bring in your own cr your 
partner's long suits, and to stop those of the enemy. You must not be deterred from 
leading them, even if all five should be small ones ; for in this case probably your 
partner will hold honors, and even if the honors are all against you, you will probably 
Boon bring down two together.] 

A trump lead from four may be warranted by strength, either of your 
own hand or your partner's in other suits, but always requires judgment 
and care. 

[But if you have a long suit to bring in, it is generally best, with four trumps, to 
lead the plain suit first.] 

A trump lead from three or less is seldom wise, being only justifiable 
by great strength in all other suits, or by special necessity, such as 
Stopping a cross ruff, etc. 

[You must not lead trumps simply because your long suit is trumped, for, if your 
adversaries are strong in them, you will only be playing their game.] 

The proper card to lead from your own strong suit of trumps varies a 
little from that of common suits. 

[For the latter is influenced by the chance of being ruffed, from which the trump 
suit is free. 

For this reason, unless you have commanding strength enough to disarm the ad- 
versaries at once, you play a more backward game, generally leading your lowest, to 
give the chance of the first trick to your partner. 

It is also often very advantageous to reserve a high trump to give you the lead the 
third time round, as in case of adverse strength of trumps remaining against you, it 
may enable you to force it with much advantage. 

If you have Ace, King, Queen, or any other commanding sequence, lead the lowest 
of them first, and then the next lowest, and so on, to inform your partner. 

If you have Ace, King, Knave of trumps, it is good to lead the King and then stop, 
waiting for the return of the lead in order to finesse the Knave.] 

If your partner asks for trumps, you are bound to lead them, and if he 
leads them you are bound to return them, the first opportunity. 

[Remembering in either case, if you had not more than three, to play your highest, 
in order to strengthen his hand. 

In inferring that your partner has asked for trumps, recollect that there are cases 
in which he may have necessarily played the higher card first ; in the trump signal 
it must be played unnecessarily.] 

K~ever lead through an honor turned up, unless you otherwise want 
trumps led. On the other hand, do not hesitate to lead up to an honor, 
if you are strong in them. 



pole's rules. 31 

Ton may finesse in tramps mnch more deeply than in plain suits. 

[As master-cards must ultimately make.] 

Ruff freely when weak in trumps, but not when strong. 

[See directions for the Second Hand. 

It may often be advisable when strong in trumps even to refuse to trump a trick 
which is certainly against you, as your trumps will ultimately make, and you may 
perhaps discard advantageously. If you see your partner do this, he will probably 
want trumps led, and you must carefully avoid forcing him.] 

Do not force your partner if weak in trumps yourself.* 

J At least, not until you have ascertained it will do him no injury ; for your weak- 
ness renders it probable he may be strong, when forcing may be the worst injury you 
could do.] 

On the other hand, force a strong trump hand of the adversary when- 
ever you can. 

[Whenever you are not strong enough to lead trumps, you are weak enough to foroa 
your adversary.] 

If, when you or your partner are leading trumps, one adversary re* 
nounces, you should not generally continue the suit. 

[As you would be expending two for one drawn. Your proper game is then to try 
and make your and your partner's trumps separately. 

It may, however, often be advisable, even under this disadvantage, totally to dis- 
arm the adversary, if you or your partner have cards or suits to bring in. In this 
case, the renouncing hand should be led up to, rather than through.] 

Similarly, if your partner renounces trumps, it is generally advisable 
to go on. 
[As you draw two trumps by expending one.] 
If you are dealer, retain the turn-up card as long as yon can. 

[To inform your partner; if not, recollect it, and notice when it falls. "When, 
however, the adversaries are drawing trumps, it may sometimes be advisable to part 
with it unnecessarily, in order to make them believe you have no more.] 

GENERAL DIRECTIONS. 

Son, your cards carefully, both according to suit and rank, and count 
the number of each suit. 

[This will greatly assist the memory.] 

If not leading, always play the lowest of a sequence. 

[This is one of the modern conventional rules by which information is conveyed to 
your partner as to the contents of your hand, and if you have an observant and edu- 
cated partner it must be carefully adhered to.] 

* One of the best modern players defines " four trumps with one honor " as soffi* 
cient strength to warrant your forcing your partner. 



32 WHIST. 

Get rid of the commanding cards of your" partner's long snit as soon 

as possible. Retain those of the adversaries'* suits as long as you con- 
veniently can. 

Discard generally from short or weak suits, not from long or strong 
ones. 

[For the cards of the former are of very little use, while those of the latter may be 
very valuable. Besides, your first discard is generally a very important source of 
information to your partner. 

It is, however, sometimes worth while to break the rule for the sake of retaining a 
guard to an honor or second best card, particularly in your adversaries' suits.] 

When you have the entire command of any suit it is a conventional 
signal for you to discard (when the opportunity arises) the best card, in 
order to inform your partner. 

[Thus, having Ace, King, Queen, and Knave of a suit not led, you would discard 
the Ace ; for it must be obvious that you would not do this unless you had others 
equally good behind.] 

Discarding the second best generally intimates yon have no more of 
that suit. 
[You throw it away because it is not likely to make.] 
Be careful in the management of your small cards. 

[In order not to mislead your partner. Do not throw away carelessly a three or 
four it you hold a two.] 

When your partner first renounces a suit, call his attention to the 
fact. 

[As it may save a revoke.] 

Keep constantly in mind the desirableness of affording information to 
your partner, of obtaining information as to his hand, and of playing the 
hands jointly. 

[This ^eing the essence of the modern game.] 

Pay attention to the state of the score, which ought often to influence 
your play. 

[Hemember that the third trick saves the game when honors are equal ; that the 
fifth saves it against two by honors, and the seventh against four by honors. Xote 
also that the odd trick is twice as valuable as any other, as it makes a difference of 
two to the score. Notice further, when you are near winning the game, how many 
tricks are wanting for that purpose.* 

In all these cases it may be expedient to modify the usual play for the sake of getting 
the tricks you want in preference to speculating for more ; for when you particularly 
require one trick, it would be folly to risk it (by finessing, for example,) in order to 
kave the chance of gaining two.] 

* This cf course relates to Short TVhist. 



POLE'S EXILES. 33 

Consider also the effect of the lead. 

[It is often desirable to depart from the usual modes of play for the sate of gaining 
the lead, or of giving it to your partner. 

And it is also sometimes worth while even to throw away a trick in order to give 
the lead to one of your adversaries j as, for example, to make them lead up to a ten- 
ace or guarded second. 

These two latter rules afford the principal opportunities for fine play.] 

Do not be discouraged when sound play fails of success, which must 
often occur. 

IOTEKESTCES. 

A good player will draw inferences, from what he sees, as to where 
certain cards do or do not lie, and generally as to the state of the vari- 
ous hands. Few players have any idea to what an extent this may be 
carried by attentive and thoughtful observation. There is not a single 
card played from which information of some kind may not be inferred : 
in fact, as a great player expresses it, u Whist is a language, and every 
card played is an intelligible sentence." The insight good players get 
into their fellow-players 7 hands appears to the unpracticed almost like 
second-sight. Great skill in this can, of course, only be attained by 
great practice and great attention, combined with some special talent ; 
but every industrious and careful player may do much in the way of 
inference, and when he has mastered the principles of the game, he 
ought to give the subject his best study. 

The following are some examples of the way in which inferences may 
be drawn from cards played ; 

LEAD. 
Play. Inference. 

(Tn the player's own first lead.) M". 13. When there is an alternative, your 

own hand, or the fall of the other cards, 
will often determine it. No account is 
here taken of the signal for trumps, 
which will sometimes modify the infer' 
ence to be drawn. 

Any plain suit. Is the best in his hand ; he holds four or 

more of it ; and has not five trumps. 

King. Holds also either Queen or Ace. 

Ace, followed by Queen. Holds Knave also. 

Ace, followed by a small one. Had originally five or more 

Queen (plain suits). Holds also Knave and Ten, but not Aoe 

or King. 

(In returning his Partner's lead.) 

Does not lead out the master-card. Poes not hold it. 



34 



WHIST. 



Plat. Inference, 

Any card, afterwards dropping a lower Has no more. 

one. 
Any card, afterwards dropping a higher Has more. 

one. 
{Generally.) 
Forces his partner. 
Refrains from doing so. 



Is strong in tramps. 
Is weak in them. 



SECOND PLAYER. 

Holds Ace also, or no more. 

Holds King also, or Ace and Ten, or no 

more. 
Holds also Queen and King, or Queen 

and Ace, or Queen and one other only, 

or no more. 
Has none lower. 

Has not more than three trumps. 
Has more than three. . 

THIRD PLAYER. 

Holds neither King nor Queen. 
FOURTH PLAYER. 

Has no card higher than the one against 

him. 
Has no card between this and the one 

against him. 

SECOND, THIRD, OR FOURTH PLAYER. 
Any card. Has not the one next below it. 

Refuses to trump a trick certainly against Probably is strong in trumps, and wants 



King (to small one led). 
Queen (ditto). 

Knave (ditto). 



Any smaller card. 
Trumps a doubtful trick. 
Does not trump it. 

Ace. 

Cannot win the trick. 
"Wins it with any card. 



them led. 
Is weak in that suit. 

Has the next best and the full command. 
Has no more. 
Signal for trumps. 



him. 
Any discard, generally. 
Discards the best of any suit. 
Discards the second best. 
Plays unnecessarily a higher card before 

a lower. 

"When it is considered that several of these opportunities for infer- 
ence will occur in every trick, it will cease to be a matter of wonder 
what a clear insight skilled and observant players will, after a few 
tricks, obtain into each other's hands. 

And lastly, a good player must apply the results of his observation, 
memory, and inference with judgment in his play. This cannot be 
taught : it must depend entirely on the individual talent or good sense 
of the player, and the use he makes of his experience in the game. 
This will vary immensely in different individuals, and the scope for 
individual judgment in play is one of the finest features of the game. 



EHYMING RULES. 35 

It sometimes happens that a person who has qualified himself to be 
called a good player is further specially gifted by nature with the power 
to make master-strokes of genius and skill, which will then constitute 
him a fine player, the highest grade to which it is possible to attain. 

The student must, however, be careful not to aim at this too early j 
remembering always that before becoming a, fine player he must learn 
to be a sound one, and that the only way to do this is to be sought in a 
perfect systematic knowledge of the principles of the game. 

RHYMING RULES. 

BEING SHORT MEMORANDA OF THE MODERN SCIENTIFIC GAME OP 

WHIST. 

If you the modern game of Whist would know, 
From this great principle its precepts flow : 
Treat your own hand as to your partner's joined, 
And play, not one alone, but both combined. 

Your first lead makes your partner understand 

What is the chief component of your hand; 

And hence there is necessity the strongest 

That your first lead be from your suit that's longest. 

In this, with Ace and King, lead King, then Ace; 
"With King and Queen, King also has first place ; 
With Ace, Queen, Knave, lead Ace and then the Queen; 
With Ace, four small ones, Ace should first be seen; 
With Queen, Knave, Ten, you let the Queen precede ; 
In other cases you the lowest lead. 

Ere you return your friend's, your own suit play; 
But trumps you must return without delay. 

When you return your partner's lead, take pains 
To lead him back the best your hand contains, 
If you received not more than three at first ; 
If you had more, you may return the worst. 

But if you hold the master card, you're bound 
In most cases to plaj^ it second round. 

Whene'er you want a lead, 'tis seldom wrong 
To lead ujp to the weak, or through the strong* 



36 WHIST. 

If second hand, your lowest should be played, 
Unless you mean " trump signal" to be made; 
Or if you've King and Queen, or Ace and King, 
Then one of these will be the proper thing. 

Mind well the rules for trumps — you'll often need tjiem ; 
"When you hold five, 'tis always eight to lead them; 
Or if the lead won't come in time to you, 
Then signal to your partner so to do. 

"Watch also for your partner's trump request, 

To which, with less than four, play out your best. 

To lead through honors turned up is bad play, 
Unless you want the trump suit cleared away. 

"When, second hand, a doubtful trick you see, 
Don't trump it if you hold more trumps than three; 
But having three or less, trump fearlessly. 

"When weak in trumps yourself, don't force your friend ; 
But always force the adverse strong trump hand. 

For sequences, stern custom has decreed 
The loioest you must play, if you don't lead. 

"When you discard, weak suit you ought to choose, 
For strong ones are too valuable to lose. 

CLAY'S RULES FOR PLAYING WHIST. 

The following rules and maxims for playing Whist are quoted from 
41 A Treatise on the Game" by James Clay, Esq., M. P., and do not 
differ materially from those taught by Mr. Pole. 

Count your cards before playing to the first trick. 

Carefully study your hand when you take it up, and consider the 
score of the game, as it is useless to scheme for two or three tricks, if 
you only require one, or to make the odd trick only at the score of one, 
or three, if your adversaries probably hold honors which will make 
them the game. Having done this, keep your eyes constantly on the 
table, never looking at your hand except when it is your turn to play. 
Ko one can become even a moderately good whist-player whose atten- 
tion is not constantly given to the table. 

Be sure to remember the trump card, however low its value. 

"When your partner renounces a suit, never fail to ask him whetbfitt 



CLAY'S RULES. 3? 

ho is sure he has none of it. If he revokes, and yon have neglected 
this precaution, the fault is as much yours as it is his. 

If you have omitted to notice how the cards fell to a trick, ask that 
they he placed. 

Endeavor to remember as many of the cards played as you can. 
They will, in time, all dwell on your memory, but you must begin by 
at least knowing all the chief cards which have been played, and by 
whom, in each suit. It is, however, still more important, and will 
greatly aid your memory, to observe with whom the strength in each 
suit probably lies ; at this knowledge you may generally arrive thus— 
in all the first leads of the different suits, but especially in those of your 
partner, compare the card led with those of the suit which you hold, 
and those which are played to the first round, in order to ascertain 
whether the leader has led from a strong, or from a weak suit. To 
make this calculation you must remember — 

1st. That strong suits, with the exception of a King, Knave, Ten 
suit, are led either from their highest or lowest card, and not from a 
middle card. From the highest card, unless the Ace, only when the 
suit is headed by two or more cards of equal value. 

Secondly. That, with a suit of two or three weak cards, it is right to 
lead the highest. 

Bear this in your mind— your partner leads, say, the Six, you have 
the Seven, Eight, Ten, and Queen. If this is his strong suit, and if con- 
sequently the Six is the lowest of four cards, his other three cards must 
be the Nine, Knave, with King or Ace— you finesse your Ten, for if 
your partner is strong, your Ten, he holding the Knave, is as good as 
your Queen. If he is weak, you are right to protect your suit as well 
as you can, and finesse against the Knave. If your Ten is taken by the 
Knave, all doubt is at an end ; your partner has led from a weak suit. 
He has not the Knave, therefore the six cannot be the lowest of four 
cards, and it is, almost to a certainty, the highest of two or three small 
cards. I say "almost to a certainty," because it is possible that he 
may have led from Six, Nine, with King or Ace. But I am speaking 
of an original lead, and such a suit would be so bad a lead, that you 
would very rarely find it from a good player. In illustration of the 
meaning of my advice to compare the first card led in a suit, with the 
cards which you held in it, and the first round played, I have taken a 
tolerably obvious case, but the habit of this comparison will speedily 
enable you to distinguish, four times out of five, the weak from the 
strong lead. 

Short of some unfailing indication, such as the foregoing, take it for 



38 WHIST. 

granted, if your partner is a good player, that his first lead is from his 
strongest suit. 

If your partner refuses to trump a certain winning card, lead him a 
trump as soon as you get the lead, and, if necessary, run some risk to 
get it. If, however, you are yourself strong in trumps, bear in mind 
that he may not improbably have no trump at all, in which case you 
must make the best of your own hand. If he has refused to trump from 
strength, you ought to have the game between you. 

Do not force your partner unless you hold four trumps, one of them 
being an honor, unless to secure a double ruff, which you have the 
means of making as obvious to him as it is to yourself. 

Or to make sure of the tricks required to save or win the game. 

Or unless he has already been forced, and has not led a trump. 

Or unless he has asked to be forced by leading from a single card, or 
two weak cards. 

Or unless the adversary has led, or asked for trumps. 

This last exception is the slightest of the justifications for forcing 
your partner, when you are weak in trumps, but it is in most cases a 
sufficient apology. 

It follows from the above that there can be but few whist offences 
more heinous than forcing your partner, when he has led a trump, and 
you are yourself not very strong in them. To justify your force, when 
he has led a trump from strength, you should be able to answer for 
winning the game, unless this should be the only way in which you can 
give him the lead. 

Do not give away a certain trick by refusing to ruff, or otherwise, 
unless you see a fair chance of making two tricks at least by your for- 
bearance. 

Lead through strong suits, and up to the weak suits, the latter being 
generally the better thing to do. 

Let the first card you throw away be from your weakest suit. Your 
partner will take this as if you said to him, " Do not lead this suit 
unless you have great strength in it yourself. The observance of this 
is so important that in the great majority of hands, especially when you 
hold a very strong suit, you should prefer to unguard a King, or a 
Queen, rather than deceive your partner as to the suit you wish him to 
lead. 

It is less dangerous generally to unguard a King than a Queen. Un- 
less the Ace of the suit is led out, or lies with your left hand adversary 
— and even in this case, if he leads a small card of the suit — you will 
make your King without his guard. If, from fear of unguarding your 



clay's rules. 39 

King, you have deceived your partner as to your strong suit, he will of 
course lead the suit from which you have not thrown away, and, in 
this case, if the Ace is to your left, your King falls, and the guard, 
which you unwisely kept, is of no service. In like manner remember 
that the card first thrown away by your partner is from his weakest 
suit, and do not lead it, unless it is an advantageous lead for your own 
hand, even in the event of his having no one strong card in it. He has 
told you that you must expect nothing from him in this suit, and, 
should you find him with some little strength in it, you may be pretty 
sure that he is stronger still in the other suits. 

This indication should be a most valuable guide to you in the play of 
the rest of the hand. 

Never ;play false cards. The habit, to which there are many tempta- 
tions, of trying to deceive your adversaries as to the state of your hand, 
deceives your partner as well, and destroys his confidence in you. A 
golden maxim for Whist is, that it is of more importance to inform your 
partner, than to deceive your adversary. The best Whist-player is he 
who plays the game in the simplest and most intelligible way. 

Keep the commanding card or the second best guarded of your adver- 
sary's suit, as long as it is safe to do so; but be careful of keeping tho 
commanding card single of your partner's, lest you should be obliged to 
stop his suit. 

With four trumps do not trump an uncertain card, i.e., one which 
your partner may be able to win. With less than four trumps, and no 
honor, trump an uncertain card. 

With a weak hand, seek every opportunity of forcing your adversary. 
It is a common and fatal mistake to abandon your strong suit, because 
you see that your adversary will trump it. Above all, if he refuses to 
trump, make him, if you can, and remember that when you are not 
strong enough to lead a trump, you are weak enough to force your 
adversary. 

Be careful, however, of leading a card of a suit of which neither 
adversary has one. The weaker will trump, and the stronger will take 
the opportunity of throwing away a losing card, if he has one. 

Let your first lead be from your strongest suit. 

The strongest leads are from suits headed with Ace, King, or King 
and Queen, or from sequences. 

In leading from two cards of equal value — say King and Queen, 01 
from a sequence — lead the highest; but, when not the leader, take, or 
try to take, the trick with the lowest. 

Jf, however, you have five cards in a suit, with a tierce or a quart to 



40 WHIST. 

a King, it is well to lead the lowest of the sequence, in order to get the 
Ace out of your partner's hand, if he has it, and thus retain yourself 
the fall command of the suit. It is wrong, though frequently done, to 
lead the Knave from a tierce to a King, unless you have at least five 
cards of the suit, as, if either of your adversaries holds the Ten arid 
three small cards, he will be left with the Ten, the best of the suit after 
three rounds, if your partner, having the Ace, has played it on your 
Knave. 

Return your partner's lead when you have not good suits of jour 
own. 

When you return your partner's lead, if you held originally four or 
more cards in his suit, return to him the lowest of those left to you. 
If you held originally but three of his suit, return to him the highest. 
Thus with Ace, Ten, Three, and Deuce, you should take with the Ace, 
and return the Deuce. "With Ace, Ten, and Deuce only, you take with 
the Ace, and return to him the Ten.* 

The foregoing is, of all similar rules, to my mind the most important 
for the observance of whist-players. It proceeds on the theory that, if 
you have four cards of a suit you are strong enough in it to husband 
your own strength ; whereas, if you have but three, you will do 
best to throw such strength as you have into your partner's hand. 
But careful attention to this rule has a much more important signifi- 
cance. It assists your partner to count your hand. You take the 
first trick in the suit which he leads — say, with the Ace — and you 
return the Ten. He is sure that you hold either no more, or only 
one more of the suit, and when to the third round you play a low 
card, he knows that you have no more. Tou would not have re- 
turned the Ten, if you had held originally four cards in the suit. 
Again, if you return to him — say, the Deuce — and to the third round 
play a higher card, he knows that you have still a card left in his suit, 
because, if you had originally held only three cards in his suit, you 
would have returned to him the higher of the two left in your hand, 
and not the Deuce. The importance of the knowledge, which you have 
enabled him to acquire, is scarcely to be over-rated. In trumps, for 
instance, when he holds one, with only one other left against him, he 
will very frequently know, as surely as if he looked into your hand, 
whether that other trump is held by you, or by an adversary. It fol- 

* This rule does not apply to the case in which, after the first round of your part- 
ner's suL you still hold its commanding card, which, when you return his lead, you 
are bound to play out, or he must needs believe it to be with his left-hand adversary, 
and will finesse accordingly. 



CLAY'S rules. 41 

lows from the above that you should not fail to remark the card in your 
own lead, which your partner returns to you, and whether that which 
he plays to the third round is higher or lower than that which he 
returned. 

THE LEAD. 

In leading from two cards, lead the higher. A lead from a Queen or 
Knave and one small card is not objectionable, if you have a miserably 
weak hand, or one in which all the other suits are manifestly disadvan- 
tageous ; your Queen or Knave may be valuable to your partner. But 
the lead from King and one small card can hardly ever be forced on 
you, and is only justifiable when your partner has indicated, by the 
cards he has thrown away, that this is his strong suit ; or when, to save 
or win the game, it is clear that he must be strong in the suit. The 
Ace and one small card can also scarcely ever be an advantageous lead, 
unless under similar circumstances. 

In leading from three cards, lead the highest. Avoid, however, lead- 
ing from the King or the Queen with two small cards of the suit. The 
cases are very rare when either of these leads can be forced on you. 
"With nothing else to do, and without any indication from your part- 
ner, you will be right to lead the lowest card; but when he has shown 
you that this is his strongest suit, you will generally be right in leading 
the highest. Avoid, also, leading from King, Queen, and one small 
card. If this suit is led elsewhere, you will generally make both your 
King and your Queen, unless the Ace is to your left, and sometimes 
even then. Whereas, if you lead the suit, and the Ace is against you, 
you can only make one trick. 

A lead from Queen, Knave, and one small card, or Knave, Ten, and 
one small card, is not bad when you have no better suit. 

The lead from Ace and two small cards is rarely advisable. The Ace 
is better kept to bring in your strong suit. If forced on you, the lead i3 
from the lowest card. 

From King, Queen, with two or more small cards of the suit, not 
being trumps, lead the King. In trumps, lead the lowest card. 

From Queen, Knave, and two or more small cards, or from Knave, 
Ten, and two or more small cards, lead the lowest. 

Hoyle advises that, when with Queen, Knave, and others, you hold 
the Mne ; or, with Knave, Ten, and others, the Eight ; or with Ten, 
Nine, and others, the Seven, &c, you should lead your highest, in order 
to finesse your Nine, or your Eight, &c, as the case may be, on the 
return of your lead } and this was the old system. It is now, however, 



42 WHIST. 

generally abandoned as disadvantageous at short whist, and I doubt 
its being generally right at the long game. 

If, however, the game is in such a position as to oblige you to win 
every trick in the suit, your best chance will be, having the suits I have 
described, to lead the highest card. 

"With an honor, and three or more small cards, lead the lowest. 

With four, five, or more small cards, lead the lowest, unless they are 
headed by a sequence. 

With any number of cards in a suit, not being trumps, headed by Ace 
and King, lead your King, and, unless you see cause to change your 
lead, continue with the Ace. If you are obliged to change your lead, 
your partner will thus know that, in all probability, you hold the Ace. 
Had you played the Ace, he would have had no knowledge of the posi- 
tion of the King. 

In like manner, with tierce major or quart major of a suit, lead your 
King, and follow with the Queen, thus always keeping your partner in 
the knowledge of the position of the Ace. With an Ace, Kiug suit 
however, if you are strong in trumps, and if the other suits are ex- 
hausted, or if you have no chance of making tricks in them, you will 
not unfrequently be right in leading a small card, the more so if your 
right hand adversary has thrown from the suit. 

With Ace and three small cards, lead the lowest. 

With Ace and four small cards, lead the Ace, and follow with the 
lowest. 

The lead from King, Knave, Ten, and others is exceptional. It is 
the only case of leading a middle card, and the practice is to lead the 
Ten. With so strong a suit you cannot afford to give a trick to any- 
thing less than the Ace or Queen, and the Ten is chosen, instead of the 
Knave, as the card to lead, in order to distinguish this from the lead 
from a Knave Ten suit. 

With Ace, King, and others in trumps, lead the lowest card, unless 
you have seven cards of the suit. This will be almost always right 
when you have not scored, and generally, as the first lead of the hand, 
at any score. Later in the hand many circumstances may make it 
right to secure two rounds of trumps. 

The lead from a single card is very generally condemned as an origi- 
nal lead ; and as a habit, it is very bad, though not unfrequent. The 
player who generally leads from a single card, if he happens to have 
one, is always suspected, and speedily found out. His partner never 
knows what he is to expect from him, and probably, being strong in 
trumps, draws the trumps, returns what he has reason to believe to be 



clay's rules. 4S 

his partner* strong snit, and finds him with none of it, or it may be, 

suspecting the usual singleton, he dares not play a trump when he 
other wis would have done so. This habit is destructive of all confi- 
dence, frequently helps to establish your adversary's strong suit, and is 
likely to mislead and sacrifice your partner. 

SECOND HAND. 

Playing high cards, when second to play, unless your suit is headed 
by two or more high cards of equal value, or unless to cover a high card, 
is to be carefully avoided. 

With two or three cards of the suit played, cover a high card. Play 
a King, or a Queen, on a Knave, or Ten, &g. 

With four cards, or more, of the suit played, do not cover, unless the 
second best of your suit is also a valuable card. Thus, with a King or 
Queen, and three or more small cards, do not cover a high card ; but if, 
along with your King or Queen, you hold the Ten, or even the Nine, 
cover a Queen or a Knave. 

With King and another, not being trumps, do not play your King, 
unless to cover a high card. 

With Kinrr and another, being trumps, play your King. 

With Queen and another, whether trumps or not, play your small 
card, unless to cover. 

With Knave and one small card, or with Ten and one small card, 
or with Nine and one small card, play the small card, unless to cover. 

With two cards of less value than the foregoing, play the smaller. 

With King, Queen, and one or more small cards, play the Queen, tho 
suit not being trumps. 

In trumps, if along with your King and Queen you hold two or more 
small cards, you may frequently venture to pass the trick, and give to 
your partner a chance of making it, when you have reason to believe 
that your adversary has led from strength. If his partner, however, 
has asked for trumps, or if the card led indicates weakness in the leader, 
play your Queen. 

With Queen, Knave, and one small card, play the Knave. 

With Queen, Knave, and two or more small cards, play the lowest. 

With Knave, Ten, and one small card, play the Ten. 

With Knave, Ten, and two or more small cards, play the lowest. 

With Ten, Nine, and one small card, play the Nine. 

With Ten, Nine, and two or more small cards, play the lowest. 

With other cards of lower value than the foregoing play the lowest. 

With Ace, Queen, and others, play the lowest, when you have reason 



44 WHIST. 

to believe that your adversary has led from his strong suit ; but if it is 
obvious that he has led the best card of a weak suit, put on your Ace, 
and, if you wish to establish that suit, at once continue it with your 
smallest card. Thus, if the card led is the Knave, you are sure that it 
is the best card which the leader holds in that suit, and if you do not 
play your Ace, you may lose it by its being trumped. 

If the card led is the Ten, there is cause for consideration. The Ten 
may be a singleton, or the highest of two or three small cards, in which 
case you should play your Ace. But it may also be the recognized card 
to lead from a King, Knave, Ten suit, in which case of course the 
Queen is the card to play. A Nine, or even an Eight, if you do not 
yourself hold the Nine, may expose you to somewhat equal difficulty, 
as the one may be a legitimate lead from King, Knave, Ten, Nine, and 
the other from King, Knave, Ten, Nine and Eight. 

In this difficulty you must calculate as well as you can whether the 
card led is from a strong or a weak suit, and play accordingly your 
Ace, your Queen, or your lowest card. Nor will you ever be without 
some means of forming your calculation. If the leader is a good player, 
and this his original lead, take it for granted that it is his strong suit, 
and play your Queen. A good player almost always originally leads 
his strongest suit. If the leader's partner has thrown from this suit, 
thereby indicating that it is his weakest, believe it to be the leader's 
strong suit. He will not have led it, after his partner's indication, 
unless he is very strong in it, and you may feel pretty sure that his Ten 
is led from King, Knave, Ten, and others. But if this is a forced lead, 
and the leader has previously led another suit, and that not one of com- 
manding strength, you may be almost certain that his new lead is a 
weak suit, and that he has led his best card in it. If not, and he had 
held a King, Knave, Ten suit, he would have led it in preference to 
that which he did lead. Again, if this lead occurs late in the play of 
the hand, it is probable that you know so many cards which must be in 
the leader's hand, as to be sure that there is no room left in it for this 
to be a strong suit. By such considerations as these you must be 
guided. They will sometimes lead you wrong, more frequently they 
will be almost unfailing indications, but, however this may be, you 
must make the best of them, as it is impossible to frame a rule which 
shall be a sure guide, what card to play, second hand, on a Ten, or a 
Nine, when you yourself hold Ace, Queen, and others. 

With Ace, Queen, Ten, alone or with others, play the Queen. If you 
lose her to the King, you still have the tenace over the original leader. 

With Ace, Queen, Knave, or with Ace, Queen, Knave, Ten, &c, play 
the lowest of the equal cards. 



clay's rules. 45 

"With Ace, King, Knave, play the King. The second round in the 
suit will toil you whether the lead was from strength or weakness, and 
you will finesse your Knave, or not, accordingly. 

With Ace, King, and others, not being trumps, play the King. In 
trumps, unless the leader has led from weakness, you may safely play 
your lowest card, and give to your partner the chance of making the 
trick. Nor does a card, led from weakness, bar you from doing this, if 
other considerations make it advisable. Say that a Nine is led, it is 
almost certain that this is the leader's best trump ; if his partner holds 
both Queen and Knave, you probably lose nothing by having passed the 
Nine. It may be finessed, and your partner may make his Ten. But 
if he holds an honor, he will, iu all probability, make it, if even it is his 
only card in the suit. 

With Ace, Knave, Ten, and others, not being trumps, play your low- 
est card ; your Ten would be played uselessly, for there is at least one 
honor behind you, either with the third player, who must play it, or 
with your partner ; for if the leader had held King and Queen, he would 
have played the King. In trumps, however, it is frequently right to 
play the Ten, as in this suit it is not improbable that both the other 
honors are with the leader. 

Play an Ace on a Knave. 

It is generally right to play an Ace on a Queen. If, however, the 
leader's partner has given you cause to believe that this is his weak 
suit, either by throwing it away or otherwise; or if your partner, 
by throwing away from other suits, has given you reason to hope that 
here he may have some strength, you may with advantage pass the 
Queen, and give to your partner the chance of holding the King. It is 
to be presumed that the leader has led from his strong suit, probably 
from a tierce to a Queen, with another card. By passing the Queen, if 
your partner has the King, you still hold the Ace behind your adver- 
sary's strong suit, which is better than that your partner should hold 
the King to its right hand. For, when the lead is returned, the original 
leader must play one of the two remaining cards of his tierce, in order 
to draw your Ace, whereas, had you played your Ace on the Queen in 
the first round of the suit, on its return your partner must play his 
King, leaving the original leader with both the Knave and the Ten, if 
he originally held four cards in the suit. 

With Ace, Ten, and another, you may safely pass the Queen ; the 
best which the leader can have is Queen, Knave and a small card, and 
this is most probably his strength in the suit. If you pass the Queen, 
and your partner has the King, the leader makes no trick in his suit, as 



46 WHIST. 

you are behind him with Ace, Ten. Your only risk is, that the Queen 
may be a singleton, or that the leader's partner may hold the King 
single, nor is this risk great. 

In the second round of a suit, if you hold the winning card, or third 
best card of such suit, you must be guided in your play by the indica- 
tions which the first round will have given you. It will be generally 
right to take the trick, if you hold the winning card, but you may not 
unfrequently pass the trick, if you feel pretty sure that your partner 
holds the second or third best card. 

Thus, you hold Ace and two small cards in a suit, your right hand 
adversary leads a small card, you play your lowest, the third player 
plays the Knave, and your partner takes the trick with the Queen. It 
is pretty clear that your left hand adversary does not hold the Ten or 
King; had he held either, he would not have played the Knave. If 
this suit is led again with a small card, but one which is higher than 
his first, by the same leader, and you are thus again second hand, you 
may again with safety play a small card. The leader does not hold 
King and Ten, for as these have become equal cards, he would have 
led one of them. It is, therefore, clear that your partner holds either 
the Ten or the King, and that, whichever he holds, he can win the trick. 

Again, if you hold in the second round the third best card of the suit, 
you will be sometimes right to play it, if you have reason to believe 
that your partner holds the winning card, which you may thus preserve 
to him. 

If your suit is a long one, say even four cards, you must bear in mind 
the danger that your partner's winning card may be single, and that he 
may be forced to take the trick which is already yours. There is also 
the further risk that, believing you to have no more of the suit, he may 
miscalculate your strength, and that of the other players, in the remain- 
ing suits. The foregoing is, therefore, an experiment which I cannot 
recommend to young players. 

THIRD HAND. 

The third hand is, as a general rule, expected to play his best card to 
the suit which his partner has led, and which, in the case of an origual 
lead, is, or, in the vast majority of hands, ought to be, his partner's 
strongest suit. By playing your best card, therefore, to your partner's 
lead, if you do not take the trick, you at least assist him to establish 
his strong suit. 

With Ace, Queen alone, or with others of the suit, it is advisable to 
finesse your Queen, for you cannot lose by this mode of play unless in 



clay's rules. 47 

the improbable event of the King being single behind you. If it is to 
your right, or held by your partner, your Queen is as good as your 
Ace. 

If you have reason to believe that your partner's lead is from a weak 
suit, you may make any other finesse, and protect your own suit, if it is 
worth protecting, as well as you can. Thus, with a Nine led in a suit 
of which you hold King, Knave, and others, you may finesse your 
Knave, or pass the Nine, if not covered by the second player, as the 
state of the game and of your hand may dictate. 

Or with Knave, Nine and others of a suit, you may finesse your Nine 
or pass an Eight, if led and not covered. There are a great number of 
similar cases, with which practice will make you familiar. 

There are several considerations which will lead you to judge whether 
your partner's lead is from a strong or a weak suit. The card he leads, 
when compared with those of the suit which you hold, may show you 
that it cannot be the lowest of four, or even of three cards, or that, if it 
is, the card, against which you would finesse, is in his hand. 

Or he may have led before, and you have found that his lead was 
from a suit of but little strength. In this case, as his first lead ought 
to have been from his strongest suit, it is fair to presume that his second 
is yet weaker. 

Or if one suit has been played out, or is plainly the adversary's suit, 
and you have thrown away a card from a second, it is very likely, when 
your partner leads a third suit, that he has done so, not because he is 
strong in it, but to avoid leading the suit which you have shown him 
to be your weakest. 

It can hardly ever be right to play the Queen on your partner's Ten, 
when not covered with the Knave by the second player. Unless he has 
led from Ten, Knave, King, in which case your Queen can do no good, 
the Ten is almost to a certainty his best card in the suit, and you are 
right to finesse against the Knave. 

In trumps, especially when very strong in them, you may finesse 
more deeply than in the other suits. Tou may occasionally finesse 
against two cards; thus with Ace, Knave, Ten, if there is no indication 
of a strong necessity for securing two rounds, you may play your Ten. 
If your partner holds no honor, you secure two tricks in the suit, 
unless the two other honors lie behind you. If he does hold an honor, 
the finesse is generally as good in your hand as in his. 

"With an honor turned up to your right, you should finesse your Ten, 
holding Ace, Knave, and Ten, and almost always your Knave, holding 
Ace and Knave alone, or with a small card or cards. 



48 WHIST. 

The finesse of Knave, from King, Knave, is rarely right, unless your 
hand is such that you can almost answer for winning the game, if your 
partner has led from strength, or unless it is obvious that he has led 
from weakness. 

In the second round of a suit you often know that the best card re- 
maining in it is behind you. Thus, holding King and others, you have 
led a small card, and your partner has won the trick with the Queen. 
He returns to you a small card ; you know the Ace to be behind you ; 
your partner has it not, or he would have played it; your right-hand 
adversary has it not, or he would not have allowed the Queen to make 
the trick. In this case, if, along with your King you hold the Ten, you 
must play it, and finesse against the Knave. If the fourth player 
holds both the Ace and the Knave, it cannot be helped. He will make 
both tricks, but you have taken the only chance for your King. 

The foregoing is equally good in any other combination of the cards, 
when, on the second round, you find yourself with the second and fourth 
best of the suit, and a certainty or strong probability that the best lies 
behind you. Thus, your partner, on your lead, wins the trick with the 
Ace, and returns to you a small card. Tou hold the Queen and Ten ; 
you are right to finesse your Ten, for if the second player had held the 
King he would have played it most probably, the suit not being trumps, 
and, in trumps, at least as often as not. 

As third player, you must bear in mind that " to finesse " means to 
retain in your hand the best card of the suit, playing a lower one not in 
Sequence with such best card, on the chance that the intermediate card 
is in the hand of the second player ; in the case of a finesse against two 
cards, such as the finesse of the Knave, holding Ace, Knave, on the 
chance that the intermediate cards, one or both of them, are with the 
second player. There is therefore no finesse against a hand which has 
none of the suit, or which plainly does not hold the intermediate card or 
cards, against which you would finesse. This caution equally applies 
to the second player, who, though not so frequently as the third, has 
many opportunities of using a finesse to advantage. 

FOURTH HAND. 

Of the fourth player there is little to be said here except that it is his 
business to take the trick if he can, unless it is already his partner's, 
amd, if he cannot do so, to throw away his lowest card. 

In this position you should especially bear in mind that it is wrong 
to give away a trick without a very strong probability, almost a cer- 
tainty, of making two tricks by your forbearance. Many players, if 



clay's eules. 49 

they hold the Ace, Knave, and others, of a suit of which the adversary 
leads the King, invariably forbear to take the trick, in the expectation 
that the leader will continue the suit in which they then hold the per- 
fect tenace. It is a bad and dangerous practice, which I cannot reccom- 
niend to you, except you have some special reason for it. Tour partner, 
believing the Ace to be against him, will tramp the next round, if he 
can. The leader's partner may have bat one of the suit, which, if it is 
continued, he will trump, and your Ace will probably never make a 
trick. Tou give up, for one round at least, the great advantage of 
getting the lead. The leader, either from suspecting your tactics, or 
because he has another strong suit to show his partner, changes his 
lead, and when the suit is next led, it is probably by your right hand 
adversary, who leads through your tenace, instead of to it. In the 
meantime you may have upset the general scheme of your partner's 
game by leading him to believe that the whole of this suit is against 
him. And what have you gained by your ingenuity ? If you play in 
the simple way, and take the King with the Ace, you will equally re- 
main with the Knave the best card of the suit in its third round, if the 
second round is led by the original leader, or if it is returned to him by 
his partner, unless he has the opportunity, and avails himself of it, of 
finessing a Ten. The chance of your partner playing this suit up to its 
original leader is so small as not to be worth consideration. He will 
not do so if he has anything else to do, but, such as the chance is, it 
tells again,st this practice, which is rarely advisable unless you are very 
strong in trumps. In this case not only is it allowable to run risks 
which should be otherwise avoided, but also your forbearance may 
tempt the adversary to lead trumps. This is more especially the case 
if one strong suit has been previously declared against you. Tour 
adversary, who then believes that he and his partner hold at least the 
tierce major in a second suit, will not unfrequently be induced to lead a 
trump. 

The foregoing caution is applicable also to the second player, who, 
however, under the circumstances described, may pass a King with 
somewhat less risk than is incurred by the fourth player, for, if the suit 
is continued, he takes the second trick in it with his Knave, and unde- 
ceives his partner at once. 

There are occasionally cases in which it becomes plain that the fourth 
band must not take the trick. I will put the most obvious, reminding 
you that the case is the same with every similar combination of the 
cards. 

As fourth player you have three cards left in your hand, tho King^ 



50 WHIST. 

the Ten, and a small card, of a suit of which the leader has led the 
Queen, and you know him also to hold the Knave and the Xine. These 
are the only cards left of the suit, which we will suppose to be trumps, 
or, which comes to the same thing, that the trumps have all been 
played. It is clear that, if you take the Queen with your King, you 
only make one trick with your three cards, as the Knave and Xine will 
lie behind your Ten and small card. It is equally clear that, if you 
refuse to win the Queen, and play your small card, you will make two 
tricks out of the three, as the Knave and Xine must then be led up to 
your King and Ten. 

There are also some cases in which the fourth player should take a 
trick which already belongs to his partner. Here again I will put a 
very obvious combination, leaving it to practice to show you others of a 
similar character. 

You have the Ace and a small card of a suit, and two or three losing- 
cards, which you know that your partner cannot win. He, as second 
player, has taken the trick in the suit of which you hold the Ace and a 
small one. and you know that he can have nothing but that suit to play. 
If you do not take t hat trick from him, you will be forced to take the 
next trick with your Ace, and have nothing left for it but to play your 
losing cards, and to submit to the loss of the remaining tricks. But, if 
you take his trick with your Ace, and return to him the small card, you 
give him .the opportunity of a finesse, when you will probably make 
two, or, it may be, all the tricks in the suit. If he can only make one, 
you have lost nothing by taking this chance. 

INTERMEDIATE SEQUENCES. 

An intermediate sequence is one which is neither at the head, nor at 
the bottom of a suit. Thus a suit of Ace, Queen, Knave, Ten, and a 
small card, contains an intermediate sequence. The way to play this 
suit, as also one containing a tierce to a Knave, has been shown before, 
but some ingenious players have endeavored to create a system for 
playing suits containing small intermediate sequences, such as a tierce 
to a Ten, to a Xine, or to an Eight, &c. 

Take some such suit as this— King, Xine, Eight, Seven, and Four. 
They say that it is not right, in such cases as this, to play the lowest of 
the suit, but the lowest of the sequence, lest the first trick should be 
made against them by a very small card. They ccmmcnce then with 
the Seven. On the second round, unless called on to take, or attempt 
to take the trick, they throw the Four. 

I cannot give my adhesion to this doctrine, My partner leads the 



WHIST. 51 

Seven, and I or the adversary take the first trick, and continne the suit, 
-when my partner throws the Four. I can only believe that he has led 
the best card of a weak suit. I perhaps refrain, in consequence, from 
leading trumps, which I might otherwise have done, and I miscalculate 
his hand in many ways. The third round, to which they must of neces- 
sity play a higher card than that first led, will, they say, undeceive me. 
But, in the meantime, all the mischief may have been done. I may 
have led the third round in the hope of forcing my partner, and I have 
forced the adversary instead ; or I may have changed the whole scheme 
of my game. 

But they say, perhaps, that to the second round of the suit they 
would play the Eight, and not the Four, and this appears to me to be 
less objectionable. In this way they at least do not deceive me as to 
their having led from a strong suit. Yet still they have concealed from 
me one card, the Four, which I shall believe to be in an adversary's 
hand, and which, not having been played by either adversary, may 
readily lead me to the conclusion that one of them has asked for a trump. 
The least evil is that I miscount the hand which I cannot believe to con- 
tain the Four. 

These disadvantages, tending as they do to mystify the game, appear 
to me to more than counterbalance the small advantage of making sure 
that the first trick is not given away to a very small card. The inter- 
mediate sequence, however, of Ten, ^ine. and Eight, is of sufficient im- 
portance to justify this system of play in critical positions, but scarcely 
as a general rule. 

The foregoing rules will be found easily intelligible, and not too great 
a tax on the memory, if the learner will be at the trouble of placing 
before him the cards named in the different cases given to him. With- 
out this precaution, the enumeration of a variety of cards confuses the 
mind, and presents no picture to the eye. 



"WHIST. 



THE PRINCIPLES OF MODERN WHIST. 

The following chapters, taken from a recent work on the ' ' Philosophy 
of "Whist," by Dr. William Pole, explain so thoroughly the funda- 
mental principles of the modern game, that they are deemed indispen- 
sable to those who desire to become proficient players, and are introduced 
here verbatim : 

CHAPTER I. 

THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE OP MODERN WHIST 

PLAY. 

Our first duty is to explain and illustrate the great principle which 
underlies the entire structure of modern Whist play, and governs the 
whole of its rules. 

The principle is one which, although most obvious and incontestable, 
has been unaccountably ignored, to a large extent, in Whist practice 
generally. It is founded on the relations existing between the players. 
According to the constitution of the game, the four players have not 
each an independent position — they are combined in pairs, two of them 
being what are termed partners against the other two, who are similarly 
combined in their opposition. It follows naturally from this arrange- 
ment that the interest of any one player is inseparably bound up with 
that of his partner, any advantages gained by either being common to 
both. 

Now, there are two ways in which a partnership may be conducted, 
as we may see by a reference to the ordinary affairs of life. Take, for 
example, an ordinary business firm of two partners. Either the two 
persons may each conduct an entirely separate concern, merely putting 
their gains together ; or they may both combine in the same establish- 
ment, each aiding the other in the joint work of carrying it on. There 
can be little doubt that, except perhaps in some special cases, the latter 
must for many reasons be the most advantageous, as it is by far the 
most general plan. 

Or take another example of co-operation — namely, the alliance of 
two powers in warfare. They might act separately, each being guided 
by its own independent judgment; but this would be quite an excep- 
tional proceeding. The ordinary way is to combine their forces and 
to act in concert. And no one can doubt that the junction and co-oper- 
ation of two divisions of an army would give more powerful results 
than could be obtained by their divided action. It was the policy of 



THE PRINCIPLES OF MODERN "WHIST. 53 

Napoleon in 1815, according to the maxim divide et impera, to prevent 
such junction and co-operation, and had he succeeded there would have 
been no victory for us at Waterloo. 

Applying this analogy to Whist, there may be two ways of treating 
the partnership relation. In the first place, each partner may play in- 
dependently, in the manner which seems most suitable to his own hand 
— i.e., he may endeavor to make as many tricks as he can by his own 
cards, leaving his partner to do the same, without reference to any idea 
of combination. This is the most primitive and simple view of the 
matter, and it is the one followed by players generally who have not 
studied in the modern school. 

But it does not require much consideration to perceive that it is not 
the best view. In other alliances "Union is Strength; " it is advan- 
tageous for each partner to aid the other, and the principle is capable 
of application with most eminent advantage in the play of a Whist 
hand. 

Examples of the benefit of this kind of co-operation will easily sug- 
gest themselves. One partner may have good cards in plain suits, 
while the other may have good trumps to enable him to make them ; 
one partner may have several low cards of a long suit, and the other a 
few high ones to enable him to "establish " it; one partner maybe 
short of a suit, and the other may be able to lead it to him to ruff; and 
so on in many ways. 

In any of these cases the advantage of co-operation over isolated 
play is clear; but indeed such examples are hardly necessary, the prop- 
osition is so self-evident; and we may easily conceive that if the 
principle could be carried out to its full extent by each player seeing 
his partner's cards, so that the two hands could be combined and played 
as one, the advantage would be a maximum. 

But it will be said that the condition of the player seeing his partner's 
cards cannot be carried out ; and it may be reasonably asked, How, 
in the absence of this apparently essential condition, can the advantages 
of the co-operation be attained ? The answer involves the key to the 
whole philosophy of modern Whist play. It is true, we may say to 
inquirer ; — at the commencement of the hand you know nothing, or 
next to nothing, of your partner's cards ; but in the absence of informa- 
tion, you must play in such a way as is likely to be best adapted to 
further the interests of the combination when it may become known. 
And this can be easily done, seeing that philosophical reasoning en- 
ables us to devise rules expressly for this object. And these rules will 
have a treble purpose ; they will be adapted not only to enable you to 



54 WHIST. 

help your partner, but also to enable him to help you, and to enable 
you both to obstruct the opponents. 

The nature and rationale of these rules will be hereafter explained ; 
meanwhile it must be fully understood that the first and main principle 
which determines the precepts and practice of modern Whist is that of 
the combination of the hands. The modern game aims at carrying 
out this principle to the furthest extent possible. It forbids the player 
to consider his own hand apart from that of his partner, commanding 
him to treat both in strict union, and to make every step conducive to 
the joint interests of the pair. 

Simple and obvious as this principle appears, it is only very lately, 
after a century and a quarter of tentative approximations, that it has 
become fully recognized. The fact of the community of interests was 
of course always patent ; but many of the earlier rules were either an- 
tagonistic to, or at least imperfectly fitted for, efficient combined play ; 
and the tendency of the latest improvements has been either to abolish 
or to modify these, so as to make the combination of the hands the 
ruling principle— the great basis from which the whole play springs. 



CHAPTER II. 
THE TENTATIVE STAGE OF PLAY AT THE COMMENCE- 
MENT OF THE HAND. 

It will now be shown how the principle enunciated in the last chap- 
ter is carried out, so as to guide the player in the conduct of the hand. 
And it is necessary to begin with the condition which has been called 
the tentative stage — that is, the earliest phase of play, when the player 
knows little or nothing as to what the other hands contain. Here, 
therefore, the guidance given him must be in the shape of rules, so 
framed as to be applicable to the only data he has before him — namely, 
the cards of his own hand. 

There are some very common mistakes as to the rules of Whist play, 
and it is as well to expose these at the outset. A. certain class of per- 
sons, among whom we often find players of considerable skill, consider 
that the play of a hand is entirely a matter of individual judgment. It 
would be so if the player had full data to act upon, and towards the 
end of a hand, when the positions of the cards may be pretty well 
known, these persons often play very well. But they forget that during 
a large portion of the hand no sufficient data exist for judgment, 
properly so called, to be exercised upon, and what they under such 



THE PRINCIPLES OF MODERN WHIST. 55 

circumstances call judgment mnst be really only caprice or fancy. 
Hence, at the beginning of a game such players often do things which, 
though they may sometimes accidently turn out well, are more likely 
to do great mischief. In the absence of data the proper course is 
clearly to put all individual fancies aside, and to follow the rules 
which are dictated by philosophical reasoning as likely to do the most 
m good or the least harm. 

Another class are content to accept rules of play, but they treat 
them as entirely matters of empirical authority. Their only idea of the 
value of a rule is, either that it has been published in some book, or 
has been given out by some person considered to be a good player. 
But there are many writings on Whist which are altogether untrust- 
worthy and worse than useless, and there are many so-called good 
players who are but doubtful authorities on matters of theory. And 
even of the rules emanating from the highest quarters, such as the 
manuals of " Cavendish " or the dicta of Clay, it should be understood 
that they owe their chief value, not to the mere opinions of these 
eminent persons, but to the fact that they admit of being demonstrated 
by philosophical reasoning. It is quite true that many of the most 
valuable items of the Whist code have been suggested by long ex- 
perience, as collected and interpreted by men of acute penetration, and 
accurately thinking minds ; but this not of itself sufficient to warrant 
their reception without due inquiry. It is the spirit of the present age 
to " prove all things," and within the last few years the rules of Whist 
playing have been submitted, like other branches of knowledge, to the 
fcest of strict philosophical investigation, and it is only by their passing 
this test that they can be implicitly relied on. 

Then there is another class of players, who, in their confident reliance 
on the rules of play, misunderstand their nature by carrying them too 
far, and applying them to circumstances for which they are not suita- 
ble. Such rules, for example, as are based on the want of knowledge 
of the positions of the cards, obviously lose their applicability when 
these positions are known ; and there are many other cases where the 
conditions that have given rise to the rule disappear, and where, there- 
fore, the rule itself is no longer binding. Hence a good player ought to 
be aquainted not only with the rules themselves, but also with the rea- 
soning on which they are founded, in order that he may be able to judge 
when they are not applicable as well as when they are. 

It is for this reason that a philosophical investigation of the theory of 
the game becomes so advantageous, and indeed so essential to the 
development of really intelligent action. A mere superficial acquaint- 



56 WHIST. 

ance with the verbal rules will, no doubt, be an advantage, as it will in 
many cases determine sound play ; but it will never give that complete 
command over the infinitely varying situations of the game which will 
result from a knowledge of the rationale and the derivation of each 
formula. 

Coming now to the deduction of rules for the play of the cards at the 
commencement of the hand, it will be evident, according to what has 
been said before, that the canon to direct their construction is — 

That they must be of such a nature as will, most probably, tend to 
carry out the grand principle of the combination of the hands of the 
player and his partner. 

Now, the way in which your play may further this object is two-fold ; 
it may either help your partner, or it may give him information as to how 
he may help you. Either of these is a legitimate object to strive after ; 
if one cannot be obtained, the other may be, and in many cases both 
may be combined. 

Then again, some explanation maybe given as to what is here meant 
by probability, and how is it to be determined. The most literal refer- 
ence is to the mathematical determination of the probabilities of certain 
events happening, according to the " doctrine of chances/ ' and this 
plays a large part in the formation of Whist rules and the solution of 
Whist problems, as we shall have occasion to see hereafter. 

But this is by no means the whole of what is intended here. When 
we speak of an event being " probable " or of one event being "more 
probable than another," we also contemplate a mode of determination 
less technical and elaborate, namely, the exercise of logical reasoning. 
For there are many cases where mathematical calculation is not wanted, 
but where a simple logical discussion of the conditions will suffice to 
lead to the determination in view. It has been a bane of Whist writings 
that the authors have so frequently been unskilled in logical deduction, 
substituting for it mere dogmatical assertions of their own, or at most 
pretended conclusions which have no reasonable justification. 

In the following investigation, both the mathematical and the logical 
modes of determining probabilities will be made use of. 

THE OPEOT^G LEAD. 

The first rule a player has to learn is that which directs his opening 
lead. This is a most important step, for it not only materially influ- 
ences the future fate of his own cards, but it is the step which is re- 
lied on as conveying the earliest and most comprehensive information 
to his partner. For this reason the determination of the opening lead 



THE PRINCIPLES OF MODERN WHIST. 57 ' 

must be well considered. A great many rules for first leads have been 
given by Whist writers at different times, varying materially from one 
another, and the result has been a good deal of confusion on the matter 
in the minds of imperfectly-taught players. 

Let us consider a little what a player may do who finds himself 
obliged to lead, and has no guide but the cards he sees in his own 
hand. 

The object of Whist play being to make tricks, an untaught player 
would be inclined to set about this as quickly as possible, in the most 
obvious ways ; either by playing out any master cards he might hold, 
or in another mode very temptiug to beginners, i.e., by playing out a 
single card of a suit (if he had one) in order to trump the suit when 
anybody else led it again. But it will be shown hereafter that neither 
of these methods of proceeding is consistent with the policy of the com- 
bination principle, and the educated player will accordingly adopt 
another system, the advantages of which, though less immediate and 
obvious, are more certain and more comprehensive. 

We must, for the present, exclude the contingency that the leader's 
hand may be strong in trumps, as this cuse will be the subject of future 
discussion. We will accordingly suppose that it contains only one, 
two or three trumps. It will follow that among the other or " plain " 
suits there will be at least one of four or five or more cards. Such a 
suit is called a long suit, from its containing more than the average 
number of cards, and it has an inherent capability of trick-making 
which is very striking and important. To illustrate this, let us take 
an easy example : — Suppose I hold ace, king and five small hearts, 
each other player having two. If I get the lead, and trumps are out, I 
can draw all the adversaries , hearts with my ace and king, and then 
all my five others, however small they are, will make tricks. Or, to 
vary the case, suppose I hold the knave and six small hearts, and 
suppose I have led small ones twice, which have brought out the ace, 
king and queen, leaving, say, the ten in an adversary's hand. My 
long suit is then said to be " established," and if I can get the lead, I 
can ' 'bring it in/' as it is called, and may make tricks, not only with 
the knave, but with the three small ones remaining. It is easy to see 
from this what a great power a " long suit n may become, and although 
the cases cited are peculiarly favorable, the principle is the same in all. 
"With even the least favorable case possible, namely, four small cards, 
one will not unfrequently make a trick by virtue of the " long suit " 
capability*. 

Xow the method of opening, which has by far the greatest probability 



58 WHIST. 

of furthering the combination of the hands, is by leading the long suit, 
with the ultimate view of establishing it and bringing it in. Hence 
the rule for plain suits : 

Let your first lead oe from the most numerous suit in your hand or 
at least from a suit of not less than four cards. If you have two of 
the same number, you will naturally choose that consisting of the 
highest or " strongest " cards. 

It must not be supposed that this is a mere dictum ; it is the object 
of the present work to show the philosophical foundation of every rule, 
and this rule is justifiable on the following grounds : 

1. The object aimed at, namely, that of causing small cards to make 
tricks, is in itself a very advantageous one ; particularly as every trick 
so made may probably kill trick-making cards of the adversaries. 

2. According to this rule, your first lead conveys of itself direct and 
positive information to your partner as to what is the most important 
component of your hand ; what is the chief object you are aiming at, 
and where you want help. And thus, by means of only one card shown, 
you at once set the combination principle in efficient action. 

3. Neither the playing out of master cards from short suits, nor the 
lead of a single card, could be of any significance in calling for your 
partner's help ; they could not by any reasonable or proper means be 
made to convey intelligible information to him which he could usefully 
act on. 

4. Master cards in short suits may be safely allowed to wait. They 
will be almost sure to make to some one else's lead, and will then bring 
much more advantage than if led at first by the holder, as they may 
probably kill high cards of the adversaries, and they will give their 
holder additional leads at a later period, when such leads may be very 
valuable. 

5. Trumping a short suit, if desired, generally comes about of itself 
more advantageously than by leading the single card, which of itself 
is, on in dependent grounds, a disadvantageous lead; it may kill a good 
card of your partner's without any compensating benefit to him or to 
you, and it may tend to establish an adversary's suit, which is playing 
their game. 

6. It is urged against the long suit system, that the object aimed at 
more frequently fails than succeeds. This is true, as success usually 
requires not only the perfect co-operation of the partner, but also a 
fortuuate arrangement of the cards. But the argument is worth nothing 
unless some disadvantage arises from the attempt if unsuccessful. This 
is quite the reverse of the fact ; for (a) if the attempt fails, it does not 



THE PRINCIPLES OF MODERN WHIST. 59 

stand in the way of the full realization of any other advantages the hand 
may possess ; and (6) the system is so constituted as to do the least 
possible harm to either of the players using it, or good to their opponents ; 
and indeed it offers generally the best means of obstructive tactics 
against the opposite party. 

7. The long suit lead is almost always practicable. Leads on other 
principles are not. For example, you may have no master cards to 
lead out at once for trick-making, and no single card to lead out for 
trumping. Some old authors recommend first leads from sequences, 
and other writers, more modern, from combinations which will leave 
tenaces to be led up to. But you may have no such cards in your 
hand. Hence all these fail in giving any definite information to your 
partner. "Whereas it very rarely happens that you have not a long 
plain suit, and consequently your invite, as the French call it, to your 
partner is uniform and unmistakeable. 

WHAT CARD OF THE LONG SUIT SHOULD BE LED. 

Having shown that, as a matter of principle, the first lead in plain 
suits should be from the most numerous suit, there still remains a very 
important question, namely, What card of the suit should be led ? This 
requires some consideration ; but the philosophy of it is very clear, and 
can be easily explained. 

The object being to bring in the suit, and so to make the small cards 
in it, the lead, on general principles, should be regulated with a view to 
the perfect establishment of the suit as early as possible. It would be 
easy to give rules with this view, and they would point generally to 
holding back the high cards. To take an instance : suppose you hold 
ace, king, ^.ve, four, three, two of hearts ; if you were to play out the 
ace and king to begin with, there would be a high card still left in 
against you on the third round. The more proper way to establish it 
promptly would be to begin with a small card ; it would then be an 
even chance that your partner might win the first trick, and, even if he 
did not, you could afford to lose it, seeing that afterwards, by leading 
your ace and king, you would probably clear everything away ; or, in 
other words, by that play your suit might become established after the 
first round. 

But a further consideration comes in which must not be lost sight of. 
The above reasoning assumes that you will bring in your long suit ; but 
you must not forget that your design may fail from the strength in 
trumps being against you. And if this should happen in the above- 
mentioned case, the lead of a small card in the first instance would not 



60 



WHIST. 



be judicious. It would be oetter to lead out the ace and king at once, 
and make tricks with them while you can. 

!N"ow, considering that, as has been already said, the design of bringing 
in a long suit fails oftener than it succeeds, our philosophy will tell us 
that, although we are justified in making the attempt, we are nut 
justified in doing it in such a way as to sacrifice tricks if we fail. Hence 
we get this rule : 

In deciding ivhat card to lead from the long suit, regard must he paid 
not only to the establishment of it, but also to the possibility of making 
tricks in it early, in case it should not be possible ultimately to bring it in- 

On this maxim the ordinary rules for first leads in plain suits have 
been devised. They will be found fully explained in "Cavendish ;" 
but, at the risk of repetition, it may not be amiss to show briefly the 
logical basis of each. 

As the consideration which determines the early lead of high cards is 
the chance of their being trumped if delayed, a preliminary question 
has to be philosophically solved, namely, what is the probability of a 
suit ' ' going round " a certain number of times ? This will vary accord- 
ing to the number the leader holds. The result is given in the following 
table : 

Probable Number of Times in 100 Leads that any Suit will go 
round, the leader holding a griven number of cards of the 
Suit.* 



Number of cards of the suit held by 
the leader .,,,,,,.,.,,,,,,,,.,,,.. 

The suit will not go round once 

It will go round once only 

" " twice only 

" " three times 

Or, in other words, it will go round ) 

once or more $ 

Twice or more 

Three times 



4 


5 


6 


7 


8 


Times in 100 Leads. 


4 


6 


12 


20 


31 


32 


37 


54 


66 


69 


48 


57 


34 


14 





16 














100 


100 


100 


100 


100 


96 


94 


88 


80 


69 


64 


57 


34 


14 





16 















N.B.— It must be borne in mind that about once in three times when any player 
fails, it will be the leader's partner. 

* These calculations suppose the cards to be perfectly shuffled, but this condition 
s often absent in practice ; and the effect of insufficient shuffling is to make the 
uits go round mo re frequently than theory gives. 



THE PKIKCIPLES OF MODEKN WHIST. 61 

This may be easily applied to the most important cases of the first 
leads from hands containing high cards. 

{a) Ace and three small ones. — Here there is no sufficient reason 
why the ace should be at once played put. The probability of its being 
trumped the second round is not great, and the general principle of 
holding it back may be safely preferred. 

(b) Ace and four small ones. — Here the probability of the ace being 
lost second round is greater, and the general rule is, accordingly, to 
begin with it. 

(c) Ace, Icing and two or more small ones. — Here the advisability of 
leading out the ace and king is so evident as to need no demonstration. 

(d) King, queen and two or more small ones. — This case is not so 
clear as the last. Untaught players often lead a small one with the 
object, as they hope, of getting the ace out of the way. But this is a 
most illogical fancy. It is two to one that the ace lies with one of the 
adversaries. If it is with the second player, he ought not to play it if 
he has another card ; and if it is with the fourth player, he will not play 
it unless forced to do so by a high card of the third hand. Besides, if 
it should come out the first round, it is very improbable that king and 
queen will both pass in the second and third round without being 
trumped. Philosophy, therefore, dictates a bolder measure, i.e., to 
play out the king ; if your partner has the ace, as will happen once in 
three times, cadit quozstio; in the other two cases you will lose the 
king, but you will be much more certain of making at least one trick 
in the suit than by any other mode of play. 

There is a pretty philosophical variation of this if you hold king, 
queen and knave, with two others. Here, without losing any chance 
of trick-making, it is to your interest to make an additional effort 
towards the establishment of the suit. For this purpose you want the 
ace early out of your way. If your partner holds it, he will not put it 
on your king led ; and you consequently lead, not the king, but the 
knave, which may induce him to do so, as, being so strong, you can 
afford to allow the two honors to fall together. 

With the same object, if you hold king, queen, knave and ten, you 
lead the ten. 

(e) Queen, lenave, ten and one or more small ones. — Here there is no 
immediate probability of making a trick, and you may consequently 
adhere to the establishment policy. But there is an argumeut against 
beginning with a small one, namely, that by such a course, if your 
partner does not happen to have a good card, then a low card of the 
adversary's may win the trick, which would be a pity. You, having 



62 WHIST. 

three high cards, can afford to guard against this by leading one of 
thern (the queen), which is accordingly the usual rule. Your queen 
■will force out one of the superior honors, and your knave another (if 
both are against you), and on the third round your suit will probably 
be established with the ten at the head. 

(f) Knave, ten, nine and one or more others. — Same reasoning as 
the last, though the establishment is somewhat less certain: begin with 
the knave. 

(g) King, lcnave, ten and one or more others. — Same reasoning: 
begin with the ten. 

(h) Ace, queen, lcnave and a small one. — Here you combine the early 
trick-making with the establishment policy, by leading first the ace and 
then the queen. This will draw the king, and your suit is probably 
then established with the knave at the head. 

The above are the usual cases of special plain suit leads. In all 
others, you adhere to your establishment policy by opening with a 
small card. 

LEADING TRUMPS. 

Hitherto we have ignored the trump suit, and treated of plain suits 
only ; but the trump suit it so exceedingly important, that the philo- 
sophical principles of its management must now be taken carefully into 
consideration. 

And we rind at once a powerful light thrown on this subject by the 
results we have arrived at in regard to the opening lead. It is explained 
there that the object to be aimed at in the play of the hand is the bring- 
ing in of long suits ; but the great obstacle to this is the chance of their 
being trumped by the enemy ; and it naturally follows that it is the 
policy of the long suit holder to get, if possible, his adversaries' trumps 
out of the way. Each party knows this very well, and consequently it 
often happens that the preliminary battle of the hand is fought on the 
trump suit, one of the parties endeavoring, by leading trumps, to disarm 
the other party and so to leave the field clear for the long suits to 
come in. 

We have then to inquire, What do the laws of probabilities tell us 
as to leading trumps? One thing we may take for granted, namely, 
that in this battle, as in others, fortune favors les gros oataillons: the 
party who is strongest in trumps will be most likely to prevail, and 
what we have to inquire is, How can ice estimate the amount of strength 
which will warrant an attack by a tramp lead ? This question we will 
proceed to discuss. 



THE PRINCIPLES OF MODERN" WHIST. 63 

In the first place, it does not require much thinking to convince ns 
that for this purpose numerical predominance in trumps is more efficient 
than high cards. If, for example, I hold five small trumps and my 
partner two, one of the adversaries possessing the four honors, four 
leads from our side will exhaust the enemy, and I shall have one trump 
left to enahle me to bring in my own or my partner's long suit, which 
is the object to be attained. 

Although, therefore, it would be absurd to say that high rank in 
trumps is no benefit, or is to be ignored, yet for our present purpose it 
is more material to consider the numerical strength only, and ascertain 
what amount in this will justify a trump lead. 

And it must be observed that we must confine attention to the 
numerical strength in one hand, not in the two jointly ; for the former 
determines the number of rounds, and consequently the exhausting 
power. 

Having given the number of trumps held by one player, * it can be 
found what is the probability of certain numbers being held by the 
other players ; and the result is as follows : 

(1) If one player happen to hold as many trumps as seven or more 
his predominance is certain, and needs no further discussion. 

(2) If he hold six, it will be only three or four times in 1000 that one 
of the opponents will hold an equal number ; and, therefore, the pre- 
dominance here also may be taken for granted. 

(3) If he hold five, then in about eighty cases out of 1000 an opponent 
will hold five or more. Seeing, therefore, that with five trumps the 
predominance is assured in 920 cases out of 1000, we arrive at the rule 
that (barring any specially manifested reason to the contrary) — 

You should lead trumps if you hold five or more. 

(4) If the player hold four trumps, the probabilities are, that in about 
580 cases out of 1000 one of the opponents will hold four trumps or 
more. 

So that the predominance will only be secured in about 420 cases in 
1000 ; showing the justice of the rule that — 

A lead of trumps from four must be made with great caution, being 
only justified by special inducements in regard to other cards. 

(5) With less than four trumps, you evidently cannot exhaust them ; 
but a lead of trumps from numerical weakness is sometimes made in 
the hope that the partner may have a good number. The probability 

* This player is here for simplicity assumed to be also the dealer ; if the dealer is 
one of the others, he will hold a certain number somewhat oftener than is here 
stated. 



64 WHIST. 

of strength in tramps is considerably influenced by the deal. In the 
long run the dealer will hold five or more trumps 292 times in 1000 
deals, whereas a non-dealer will hold them only 137 times. The average 
number of trumps held by the dealer is 3*82 ; by a non-dealer only 3 06. 

Supposing that you are numerically weak, this fact also favors the 
probability that your partner may be numerically strong. 

Say, for example, you hold only one trump ; if your partner has had 
the deal, it is nearly an even chance that he will hold five trumps or 
more, and if you have good plain suits, you may be justified in taking 
the risk of the trump lead— particularly if your single trump is a toler- 
ably high one, as it will strengthen your partner, and be in no danger 
of misleading him. 

But if your partner has not dealt, or if you have more trumps than 
one, the table shows that your trump lead would be probably disad- 
vantageous, or would at least only be warranted by very exceptional 
circumstances. 

The element of the deal ought always to be considered in doubt- 
ful cases, as either favoring a lead of trumps if your partner is the 
dealer, or deterring from it if the deal has been with the adversaries. 

It is sometimes urged that since the lead of trumps is intended for 
the purpose of bringing in long suits, or of protecting high cards, it 
ought not to be prescribed universally, but only on the condition pre- 
cedent of the possession, by yourself or your partner, of good plain 
suits also. This precaution, however, in ordinary play is often im- 
practicable, for the trump lead, to be efficacious, ought to be prompt, 
and to delay it till you have found out the contents of your partner's 
hand might probably defeat its object. But the precaution is, in 
reality unnecessary. Suppose you have five trumps and no good cards ; 
you may fairly presume on the probability that your partner will have 
something good in his hand ; and if he has not, it is doubtful whether 
any other lead might not be more disadvantageous for you. It is im- 
possible to reduce the probabilities of this case to mathematical calcu- 
lation, but general experience, as represented by the opinion of the best 
authorities, appears to warrant the expediency of a trump lead from five 
or more, without waiting for the consideration of the other contents of 
the two hands. At any rate, the cases of disadvantage are so rare that 
they may be ignored in the expression of the general rule. 

The question as to what cards should be led from the trump suit is a 
complicated one, involving too much detail to be explained here. The 
general maxim, however, regulating it is to endeavor to establish the 
suit, and so to gain the perfect command of it as early as you can. 



THE PRINCIPLES OF MODERN WHIST. 65 

As a simple general rule, "unless you have at least three very high 
cards, you begin with a small one. 

FORCING. 

It will be shown in Chapter IT that if your partner has manifested 
strength in trumps, your duty is carefully to avoid forcing him to trump 
a trick in a suit of which he is void, as this might do him great injury. 

But a doubtful case often occurs. Suppose you find your partner void 
of a suit at an early period, before he has been able to give any clear 
intimation of what his hand consists of; ought you then to force him if 
you get the lead ? No doubt the temptation to do so is strong ; too 
strong usually for inconsiderate players to resist. But much harm may 
be done thereby, and it is necessary to consider what course philosoph- 
ical reasoning dictates on the point. 

In the first place, if you are numerically very strong in trumps your- 
self, it is obviously good to force him, before you lead trumps, and so 
to allow him to make tricks with his trumps instead of having them 
drawn. And if you are only moderately strong, say with four, no great 
harm can be done. Hence — 

If numerically strong in trumps yourself force your partner. 

But suppose you are not numerically strong, say you have only three, 
or two, or one ; then you should consider that the fact of his having 
renounced one plain suit increases the probability of his being strong 
in trumps, and as a matter of prudence, it is a general rule not to force 
your partner under these circumstances, i.e., 

If numerically weak in trumps yourself, refrain from forcing your 
partner until you are satisfied that he is not strong , and has no desire 
to lead them. 

TRUMPING DOUBTFUL TRICKS. 

Another question often arises whether, being second player, you 
ought to ruff what is called a " doubtful trick"— i.e., a trick of which 
it is uncertain whether your partner holds the best card. 

Ill-taught players are always much perplexed by this case, and are 
wont to enter into all sorts of (simply useless) speculations as to where 
the best card may lie. But our philosophy gives a far better guide. If 
you are weak in trumps they are only good for trumping, and you may 
use them unhesitatingly for that purpose. But, if you are numerically 
strong in trumps, they are so valuable that you ought not to waste one 
on the chance of its being an unnecessary sacrifice ; in this case, too, 
your discard from a plain suit may be advantageous to you hereafter, 
and may give valuable information to your partner. 



66 WHIST. 

THE D1SCAKD. 

When yon renounce a suit and are not inclined to trump the trick, 
you have to "discard, " and in the modern philosophical game it is im- 
portant what suit you discard from. 

The idea of untaught people is that you can best spare a card of your 
most numerous suit j but the philosophy we are expounding is quite 
antagonistic to this. The long suit is or may be (after trumps) the 
most valuable you have, and every card of it, even the smallest, may 
make a trick. Hence, you must discard on the contrary principle, i.e., 
from a short or weak suit. 

This is on the supposition that regulates the whole reasoning in this 
chapter, namely, that you have no information as to the other hands. 
When you have such information, the rule may be subject to change, as 
will be explained in Chapter IT. 

T*he discard is often of great use in giving yonr partner information 
as to your hand; suppose, hearts being trumps, your long suit is spades, 
and that you have not had the opportunity of leading it, and you throw 
away a club ; your partner will be certain your suit is either spades or 
diamonds, and he will often be able to decide which, by the fall of other 
cards, or by his own hand. For this reason the rule ought to be rigidly 
adhered to. If, however, you have already led your suit, the object as 
regards the partner is gone, and you may use more latitude in the choice 
of your discard. 

PLAY OF THE SECOND HAND. 

The second hand will often have to play with very little knowledge 
of any hand except his own ; and our philosophy must accordingly 
furnish him with some maxims for his guidance. 

The first is one dictated by a simple consideration of his position in 
regard to the two players who have to follow him. Suppose a small 
card led, the thud player must (as will be hereafter shown) put on his 
best card of the suit, which the fourth hand will beat if he can. Gener- 
ally speaking, therefore, the second hand is not called on to interfere ; 
he may safely leave the matter to his partner, and merely let the trick 
pass, putting on his lowest card, and so saving any strengh he may have. 
This is the general rule for the play of the second hand. 

But there are some cases in which this rule may advantageously be 
departed from. Suppose yon, being second hand, h< !d ace and king of 
the suit led, you should certainly not lose the opportunity of making 
them, but put one of them on. 



THE PRINCIPLES OF MODERN WHIST. 67 

Again, if you hold king and queen, by the same reasoning you should 
play one of them. 

There are other cases of departure from the ordinary rule for special 
reasons of expediency, but they hardly involve matters of philosophical 
principle. 

The question whether, holding king and one small one, you should 
put on the king to a small one led, has been much debated. 

THE LEAD PROM SHORT SUITS. 

Cases will sometimes occur when you will be unable to make your 
opening lead from a long suit of four or more, as the combination prin- 
ciple requires you to do. 

One of such cases is when you hold four trumps and three plain suits 
of three cards each, as you must not then lead the long suit of trumps 
without further justification. And there are some other circumstances 
under which you may be prevented from leading a long suit if you have 
one ; as, for example, when one of the adversaries has led it previously. 

In these cases you may be driven to make an unphilosophical, or, as 
it is technically called, a forced lead, from a short suit of three cards 
or less. 

What card ought you then to lead from such a short suit % 

Our philosophy will still supply you with an answer. The lead will 
be of no good to yourself, but you must try not to deceive your partner 
into believing you are leading from a long suit ; and an effective mode 
of doing this to reverse the ordinary rule, and lead the highest instead 
of the lowest of the suit, which your partner if he is observant, will 
soon discover. This rule is not arbitrary ; it is founded on reason, for 
your high card will probably enable your partner to finesse, and 
will save him from losing a high card to no purpose, which he might do 
if you led the lowest. 

If having three, the highest is an ace, king or queen, you are justified 
in leading the lowest in the hope of afterwards making your high card, 
and to avoid the chance of strengthening the adversary. 

THE PLAT OF SMALL AND INDIFFERENT CARDS. 

All the previous cases have had to do with the play of cards which 
are of importance in regard to trick -making. But cases are continually 
arising where a card that has to be played is either so small as to be of 
no consequence in the trick, oris of equal value with others in the hand, 
so that it is indifferent as regards trick-making which of these small or 
indifferent cards is played. 

Such cases must be philosophically provided for, and the rule which 



OS WHIST. 

determines them springs from the same main principle as most others. 
It is this : Although the mode of playing such cards may have no in- 
fluence on the particular trick, yet it may be of the greatest importance, 
to the combination of the hands, by the information it may give your 
'partner ; and therefore it must be regulated with the view that he may 
rely on the inference to be drawn therefrom. 

A few examples will explain the nature of such cases, and the proper 
mode of dealing with them. 

Suppose a king is led, and I hold the ten and the four of the suit. It 
is reasonable and proper that I should throw away the card of least 
value— i.e., the four, and not the ten, as the latter may be of use here- 
after. My partner taking it for granted that I play sensibly and care- 
fully, will probably infer that the card I throw away is the lowest I 
have. But suppose I hold the five and the four, both of equal value 
to me, so that it is immaterial, on grounds of general expediency, which 
I play. "What am I to do ? May I throw away which I please, or 
should I adopt any rule in the matter ? The answer is dictated by 
common sense. It would be most expedient that I should have the 
power of exercising caprice — sometimes doing one thing and sometimes 
another, which would puzzle my partner and prevent his drawing any 
trustworthy inference from my play. My natural course is, therefore, to 
follow the analogy of the former case, when the cards were wider 
apart— i.e., to throw away the lowest card (the four and not the five), 
from which my partner will infer as before, and rightly, that I have no 
card lower than the four in my hand. This practice, therefore, is 
established as obligatory, and must be followed with great care. 

The same question arises, and the same principle applies also, in 
cases where the cards are not losing cards thrown away, but are valu- 
able ones played for the purpose of winning a trick. Suppose I am 
fourth player, and hold the king, queen and ten, the eight being in the 
trick against me. It is, of course, reasonable and proper I should win 
with the lowest card possible —that is, the ten. But suppose my cards 
are queen, knave and ten, all three of equal value when in my hand ; 
which should I play? Here analogy says I must play the ten, from 
which my partner will rightly draw the same inference, namely, that I 
have won with the lowest card possible. He will be certain, in both 
cases, that I cannot hold the nine. Hence it has been established as a 
general rule that, in playing sequences (except in leading them, when 
other considerations come in), the lowest card of the sequence must 
always be played ; and the partner, relying on this, will draw his in- 
ferences accordingly. 



THE PRINCIPLES OE MODERN WHIST. 69 

In leading from a sequence, the rule is usually reversed, the highest 
card being led, for an obvious reasou — i.e., to prevent your partner from 
wasting the next highest card if he holds it. Thus, from queen, knave 
and ten, you lead the queen to prevent your partner from putting the 
king on, which he might do if you led the ten. This rule, however, is 
subject to exceptions ; for it may often happen that you desire your 
partner to put on the high card, as, for example, when you lead the 
ten from king, queen, knave and ten, wishing to get the ace out of the 
way. 

CHAPTER III 

THE MEANS OF OBTAINING INFORMATION AS TO THE 

POSITION OF THE CARDS, AND THE CONTENTS 

OF THE DIFFERENT HANDS. 

The maxims laid down in the previous chapter are intended to guide 
the commencement of the play while the contents of the other hands are 
unknown. But we have now to consider the gradual dawning of infor- 
mation by the fall of the cards, and the changes which this information 
will lead to in the mode of play. And the first step is, to consider and 
explain by what means the information is gained. 

This is a branch of Whist play the cultivation of which, to any large 
extent, is entirely modern. In the old treatises it was occasionally 
alluded to, the player being directed to do certain things " to inform his 
partner," and so on. But no great stress was laid on the general com- 
munication of information from one player to his partner, nor on draw- 
ing constant inferences from the play ; nor does it seem to have occurred 
to the early writers what an amazing power lay latent in the full appli- 
cation of this principle. It is common at present to meet persons, 
thinking themselves tolerable Whist-players, who have no idea of learning 
anything from the partner's play as to what cards he holds. The utmost 
they will do is to remember the suit he leads first, in order to return it 
to him, and to notice when he renounces a suit, that they may lead it 
him to trump. If such persons are told that certain cards are known 
to lie in certain places, they think the knowledge can only have been 
acquired by looking over the hands ! 

It was only when the great principle of the combination of the hands 
became fully appreciated, that the importance of the communication 
between the partners began to be really understood. It was soon seen 
that, in order that the combination might be thoroughly carried out, each 
of the players must, in the first place, give his partner all possible in- 



70 WHIST. 

formation; and, in the second place, must carefully observe and interpret 
every intimation which his partDer might be able to afford him. With 
this view, the intercommunication was made systematic and imperative ; 
and in framing the modern rules this element of play has been specially 
borne in mind. 

As a general principle, then, the player is bound to consider the 
communication of information to his partner as a matter of special 
importance, and must take every legitimate means of disclosing to him 
what cards he holds, and what are the chief aims in his play. 

We say every legitimate means, because, of course, all means of 
conveying information must be such as are fully established and 
authorized. 

!N"ow, there are three well-established and authorized means by which 
a player can communicate information to his partner. 

I. The simplest and by far the most comprehensive mode of convey- 
ing information, to an intelligent partner, is by following carefully the 
rules of play which are established as most expedient on general 
grounds ; whether during the tentative stage (Chapter II), or in re- 
sponse to some indication by the fall of the cards (Chapter IY). These 
rules are, or ought to be, familiar to all well-instructed Whist-players, 
and, if they are implicitly adhered to, an attentive partner cannot fall 
to draw abundant inferences from the play in which they are observed. 

This will be evident when it is considered that, from the philo- 
sophical nature of the process of reasoning by which these rules are 
constructed, it follows that almost every mode of play must have a 
condition precedent, which specially dictates or calls for it ; and hence, 
when an intelligent partner sees this mode of play used, he infers, or 
ought to infer, at once that the condition precedent is there. 

For example : the first rule for the opening lead, implies the con- 
dition precedent that the suit led is the most numerous in the leader's 
hand, or that it consists of at least four cards, so that when my partner's 
first lead is from a plain suit, I at once infer the existence of this 
condition. 

Many examples of this kind of inference will be given hereafter. 

II. But these rules are sometimes intentionally violated. A player 
may depart from them for several motives, and, among others, he may 
play irregularly with the special object of conveying information to his 
partner. For it is easy to conceive cases where cards played in an un- 
expected and abnormal way may imply something which it is desirable 
for the partner to know. 

The commonest case of this is the modern practice of leading the 



THE PRINCIPLES OF MODERN WHIST. 71 

king first, from ace^and king, instead of the ace. It is an irregularity, 
the ace being the normal card. But if the king is not taken, and if the 
player should have occasion to change his suit, his partner infers that 
he holds the ace also, and that knowledge may be of great value to the 
joint hands. 

Another common irregularity is in discarding. If you hold, say, ace, 
king, queen and knave of an unplayed suit, and have to discard from it, 
you throw away the ace, contrary to all rule. But your partner, if in- 
telligent, will at once infer that you would not do so unless you had a 
sequence of cards of equal value still in your hand. 

Another case of irregular play is holding up the turn-up card. Sup- 
pose, for instance, you have turned up the queen, and hold the king 
also ; if you have to win a trick with one of them, the normal card to 
play is the queen, but in this case you play the king. This informs 
your partner you have both, which, of course, he could not know if 
you played the queen. 

Several such devices are described by " Cavendish," and others may 
be imagined and practised, on the spur of the moment, for the purpose 
of enlightening an observant partner. 

III. The third mode of communicating information is by conventions. 
It has been pre-arranged, with the knowledge and full concurrence of 
all the players, that certain modes of play are intended to have certain 
significations ; and therefore when your partner sees you adopt any such 
mode of play, he draws from it the inference intended.* 

The chief of them is the signal for trumps. In the combined game 
a player will often find it important to have trumps led promptly ; and, 
as it may not be in his power to get the lead so soon as he wishes, he 
intimates his desire to his partner by a pre-arranged signal, which is 
given in a very simple way, namely, by playing unnecessarily a higher 
card before a lower, when the usual custom would require the lower one 
to be played first. Thus, suppose a king and ace are led consecutively, 
and my two lowest cards of that suit are the seven and the three, the 
usual custom requires me to throw away first the three and then the 
seven ; but if I reverse this, and play first the seven and then the three, 
I am understood to call for trumps or aslc for trumps, and it is my 
partner's duty to lead them for me as soon as he can get the opportunity. 

* There is some difference of opinion as to whether the conventions spoken of 
here constitute an innovation on the game, or are only logical extensions of analog- 
ical forms of play. But they are now so generally admitted in this country, that 
they must form part of any description of the game. There can be no question as 
to their fairness, if agreed to by all the players. (See " Fortnightly Review," ApriL 
1879, p. 576.) 



72 WHIST. 

This device was introduced some fifty years ago^and its origin and 
rationale may be thus explained. It is said to arise from an analogical 
extention of certain modes of play which may be illustrated by the 
three following cases : 

(a) Suppose I have a very strong hand of trumps, which are hearts ; 
a strong suit of spades, a queen and one small club, and a knave and 
one small diamond. My adversary leads the king of clubs, to which I 
throw away the queen, in order to induce him to lead a trump. If he is 
an inexperienced player, he will very likely be tempted to do this ; but 
if he is cautious, and does not fall into the trap, he will continue with 
the ace, to which I must play my small card. Then comes the rdle of 
my partner : he has, if observant, seen this manoeuvre, and, if he is a 
good player, he will divine what was my object in playing the high card 
before the lower one, and will do for me, the first opportunity, that from 
which my enemy wisely abstained. 

(b) Suppose it is my right hand adversary's lead, and that he begins 
by playing a small diamond. I, having knave and a small one, ought, 
according to the established rule, to play the latter ; but, as I wish to 
get the lead in order to lead trumps, I depart from this rule and play 
the knave, hoping that the third player may have no bigger card in his 
hand. Suppose this does not succeed, the trick being won with the 
queen. On the next round, my partner seeing my small card fall, will 
ask himself what could be my motive for playing irregularly ; and, if 
he is a good player, he can have little difficulty in guessing it, and will 
lead me a trump as soon as he can. 

(c) Suppose this time it is my partner's lead, and that he has ace and 
king of clubs and ace and king of diamonds. He leads his two kings 
successively, to show me his strength; and to these I throw away the 
queen of clubs and knave of diamonds, instead of the small cards. He 
will then reason that my hand must be all— or nearly all— trumps and 
spades, or at any rate he will conclude (which is the fact) that I wish 
Mm to think so, and thereby to induce him to lead a trump, as ob- 
viously the best thing for both players. 

These methods of play being perfectly justifiable and not uncommon, 
it appears to have occurred to some one that they might, by having a 
previous understanding to that effect, be made general, applying to the 
lowest cards as well as the highest, and so the "signal for trumps " 
came into use. It is no doubt a great power, and gives great advan- 
tages to those who use it, but it is by no means certain that, generally 
speaking, it has improved the game. 

It is the opinion of many good authorities that it requires somewhat 



THE PRINCIPLES OF MODERN WHIST. 73 

greater strength to justify a call for trumps than an original lead of 
them. On this point refer to " Cavendish " and Clay. 

Another conventional device is called the penultimate lead. If, in 
leading the first card from your long suit, you do not hold any of the 
combinations which determine a high card lead, the usual custom has 
been to lead the lowest card you have. This convention dictates that 
if you hold not more than four cards of the suit, you should adhere to 
this ; but if you hold five or more, you should begin with theloivest but 
one, from which your partner will, sooner or later, find out that you 
have the larger number. 

This was introduced by "Cavendish " some years ago, and is now 
much used. 

A third conventional mode of play is called the echo of the trump call. 
If your partner leads trumps, or calls for them, and you hold more than 
three yourself, it is considered so important to convey the knowledge 
of this strength to your partner, that you are directed to " echo his call " 
— i.e., to ask for trumps yourself. 

This device was also introduced by " Cavendish/' and is fully de- 
scribed in his work. 

From what has been above stated, it may easily be seen what a very 
large and copious opportunity of conveying information exists, if it is 
properly taken advantage of by both player and observer. In Clay's 
admirable work, the opening passages (Edition 1881, pp. 35-40) are en- 
tirely occupied with this subject, and may be read with great advan- 
tage. He begins with the question, " How am I to learn Whist?" and 
he gives a most interesting account of how he actually put the question 
in his own case, and of the process by which he was led to the answer. 

He devotes about three pages to analyzing the first two tricks of an 
imaginary hand, and pointing out what a large amount of information 
may be extracted from the fall of the cards in them, when all the avail- 
able inferences are drawn.* This leads him to make use of the 
expression — 

" Whist is a language, and every card played an intelligible sentence. 7 ' 

The thought is not altogether new, for an old Spanish proverb says, 
speaking of cards and card playing : 

' ' Que liablen cartas, 
Y callen barbas. ,} 
(Let the cards discourse, but the tongue be mute.) 

* We may, however, venture to take exception to all this being called "the way 
to learn Whist." Such an elaborate process of inference cannot be attempted t)y be- 
ginners. Whist must be learnt in much simpler ways : we should rather describe 
Clay's process as "The way to become a finished and fine player." aescrioe 



74 WHIST. 

But the idea is a very happy one, and has, since the introdnction of 
the modern style of play, come into general nse. It is customary to 
speak of the "conversation'' between Whist partners with a meaning 
as definite as if the phrase referred to oral communication. 

The philosophical bearing of all this on the conduct of the game 
must be well considered by both player and observer. Each of them 
has his duties in regard to it. 

The player is bound to bear constantly in mind that every card he 
plays conveys a message to his partner as distinctly as if it were written 
in a letter ; and that if he makes this message untrue by carelessly or 
unnecessarily violating the ordinary rules of play, even in so small a 
particular as the throwing away of useless cards, he imperils the joint 
interests, and renders the great instrument of action (the combination 
of the hands) of uncertain effect. The necessity of regularity and care 
in the play is curiously illustrated by the character of truthfulness gen- 
erally ascribed to it. The player who violates this regularity, by play- 
ing a card different from that which, as a matter of routine, his partner 
would expect him to play, is said to play "false," and the card so 
played is called a " false card." Clay says to such a person, "You 
have told me, as plainly as Whist language can speak, such and such a 
fact deducible from your play. In no other position in life would you 
tell me that which is untrue ; why do you do so here V* He adds: 

' ' The best Whist-player is he who plays the game in the simplest 
way, and who always bears in mind the great maxim, th.&titis of more 
importance to give information to Ms partner than to deceive his ad- 
versary. 

" I value that player the most who never deceives me, and whose 
unvarying certainty enables me, as it were, to play his cards with almost 
the same knowledge of them as I have of my own. 

"I hold in abhorrence the playing false cards. v 

That is, of course, playing them without a definite motive. False 
cards may often be played advisedly and properly, as it is explained by 
1 ' Cavendish/' 

But, on the other hand, all this precaution is useless unless the partner, 
for whose benefit it is taken, is also thoroughly alive to the advantages 
of the intercommunication. He, too, has his duties . The language is 
addressed, the message of the card is sent, to him, and he must educate 
himself to accurate observation and prompt drawing of inferences, in 
order to be able to observe the message and to appreciate its significa- 
tion, otherwise he may lose favorable opportunities offered him by his 
partner of improving their joint position. 



THE PRINCIPLES OE MODEKtf WHIST. 75 

It may be worth while, in order to show what the opportunities and 
the duties of the observer are, to point out some of the more obvious of 
the communications that may be made to him, and which he is bound 
to notice and act upon. 

(A) Take in the first place your partner's first lead, and see what are 
the probable messages conveyed to you by this single card. 

1. If he leads a trump, he tells you he is strong in trumps, and 
wants them drawn. 

2. If he leads a plain suit he tells you he is not very strong in 
trumps, but that the suit led is the best in his hand, that he holds 
four or more cards in it, and wants to establish it, and bring 
it in. 

3. If his first lead in it is the king, he tells you he has either 
ace or queen also, perhaps both. 

4. If it is the ace, followed by a small one, he tells you he has 
not the king, or queen with knave, but that he had originally five 
or more. 

5. If it is the ace followed by the queen r he tells you he has 
the knave also. 

6. If it is the queen, you infer it is probable he holds also the 
knave and ten. 

7. If it is the knave, you infer it is probable he also holds either 
king and queen with two others ; or ten and nine, with at least 
one other. 

8. If he leads the ten, you infer he has probably also the king 
and knave. 

9. If he leads a small card, he tells you he has none of the 
above combinations which require him to lead a high one. 

10. If he leads any small cards, afterwards dropping a smaller 
one, he tells you he had orginally five or more of the suit. 

(B) Secondly, suppose he is returning your suit. In this he is acting 
on information given by you (see Chapter IY). Tou will see what his 
mode of play probably tells you. 

1. If he does not lead out the master card, he tells you he does 
not hold it, and, if not in your own hand, you therefore know it 
is against you. 

2. If he leads any card, afterwards dropping a lower one, he 
tells you he has then no more of the suit. 

3. If he leads any card and afterwards drops a higher one, he 
tells you he has still another left. 

4. If he returns your plain suit at once without showing you 



76 WHIST. 

his own previously, yon may infer he has no good long suit in his 
hand, but prefers plaining your game. 
(0) In what may be accidental leads of your partner. 

1. If he leads a losing card of a suit of which he knows you 
have none (you not having yet given him any intimation of your 
strength), you may infer generally he is strong in trumps him- 
self. 

2. If, when he has the power, he refrains from doing so, he tells 
you he is weak in trumps. 

3. If he leads a card of doubtful significance, such as a knave, 
ten, or nine, you should consider the possibility of its being a 
forced or unnatural lead. 

(D) When your partner is second player. 

1. If he trumps a doubtful trick, he tells you he is weak in 
trumps. 

2. If he refrains from doing so, he tells you he has four trumps 
at least, or else some good ones guarded. 

3. If he plays a high card, the rules for the play of the second 
hand will tell you the object, and will enable you to draw the 
proper inference. 

4. If he plays a low card, he tells you that is the smallest in 
his hand ; unless he is calling for trumps. 

(E) If he is third player. 

You generally infer he has played the highest he has, or at least 
the lowest of a head sequence ; but this is sometimes modified 
by finessing. If he plays the ace he tells you he has not either 
king or queen. 

(F) If he is fourth player. 

1. You know he will win the trick as cheaply as he can, and 
that he has therefore nothing between the card he plays and the 
one against him— e.g., if third hand has played the nine, and your 
partner takes it with the king, he tells you he not either ten, knave, 
or queen. 

2. If he cannot take a moderately high card against him, yon 
see his weakness, and must provide against it as well as you can. 

(Gr) Where your partner is in any position except leader. 

1. Any card that he plays tells you generally he has not the 
next below. 

2. When he discards, in ordinary circumstances he tells you 
that the suit he plays is his shortest or weakest. 

3. But if strength of trumps has been declared against him, he 



THE PRINCIPLES OF MODERN WHIST. 77 

tells yon that the suit he discards is his longest and best protected, 
and that he wishes yon to lead it for him. 

4. If he plays unnecessarily a higher card before a lower one, 
he is calling for trumps. 

5. If he " echoes'' when you are leading trumps, or calling for 
them, he originally held more than three. 

6. If he refuses to trump a trick that is certainly against him, 
he either has no trumps, or is strong in them, and wants them 
led. 

7. If he discards the best of any suit, he tells you either that 
he has only trumps and winning cards left, or that he has the 
next best of the suit discarded, and the full command. 

8. If he discards the second best card of the suit, he has no 
more of it. 

A good player will take such advantage of these and other inferences 
that he will often, when only a few tricks remain to be played, " count 
the hands " of some or all of the other players, which of course must 
give him a great advantage. 

The foregoing considerations have referred solely to the communica- 
tion between the two partners ; but it is obvious that all the steps that 
are taken by any player to give information to his partner are equally 
available for the information of the two adversaries, if they watch 
closely for them. The "conversation of the cards," or the " language 
of Whist,'' must be spoken aloud, and may be heard all round the table. 

A question obviously arises on this, namely, whether the fact that 
the information is open to the adversaries is of sufficient weight to be an 
argument against the free communication of it to the partner % Opinions 
have varied on this point; bat the more authoritative view, as derived 
from the experience of the best players, is, very decidedly, that the ad- 
vantage of informing your partner is considerably greater than the at- 
tendant disadvantage of informing the adversaries, and ought conse- 
quently to regulate the play. In fact, if the policy were changed to 
one of universal concealment, everybody trying to deceive and mislead 
everybody else, it is difficult to conceive how the game could be brought 
into any rational form at all. 

At the same time, there are occasions when the difficulty must be 
borne in mind, and may have a legitimate influence on the play. If, 
for example, you have a bad, unobservant partner, it is obvious that 
many of your efforts to inform him may be purely wasted, and may only 
do you harm by being taken advantage of by clever observant adver- 
saries. In such a case, or even if a good partner is found so weak as to 



78 WHIST. 

be powerless for good or harm, it would be"mcre expedient to withhold 
than to give information, and you would be perfectly justified in mod- 
ifying your tactics. These, however, are purely practical matters of 
detail, which hardly enter into the scope of this booJi. 



CHAPTEE V. 
ACTION ON THE INFORMATION OBTAINED. 

"We now come to the last phase of the hand— the decending curve of 
the parabola— when the player has to act, not as at first, blindly or 
tentatively, on rules dictated by mathematical probability or logical 
speculation, but to a considerable extent on facts that have been dis- 
closed to him as to the cards remaining in the various hands. 

Here comes into play the exercise of personal skill; for the combina- 
tions of Whist are so varied, that the particular mode of action which 
will be best adapted to the latter portion of a hand must be left largely 
to the judgment of the player. 

There are, however, some situations where the information received 
dictates certain modes of play. These can be easily defined, and it will 
be found that in all such cases the line of conduct is consistently founded 
on the same great principle that has ruled the previous phase of play, 
namely, the effective combination of the hands of the two partners. 

PLAY OF THE TKEED HAND. 

When you have to play third hand your partner has led, and you 
have, therefore, obtained important information as to the state of his 
hand. Let us see, therefore, how the application of philosophical 
principles will guide you. 

We may ignore exceptional leads, and suppose your partner to have 
led from his most numerous plain suit. If he leads a high card, you 
will ; knowing the rules in Chapter II, have no difficulty in understand- 
ing what to do. 

If he begins with the ace, you of course throw to it your lowest card ; 
and the same if he begins with king. In the latter case, if you are 
void of the suit you must not trump it, because he either holds the 
ace himself, or wants to get it out of his way to establish his suit, a 
desire you must not oppose. 

If he leads the queen, you, of course, will not put on the king, nor 
must you put on the ace, as this is a "finesse " always prescribed ; 



THE PRINCIPLES OF MODERN WHIST. 79 

understanding, however, that you play the ace afterwards as soon as 
you can to get it out of your partner's way. 

The leads of knave, ten or nine, you holding higher cards, lead to 
some rather complicated considerations, which will be found explained 
in more detailed works ; they are ruled on the same principles. 

But it will more frequently happen that your partner's first lead will 
be a small card, and here you have a greater range of choice as to your 
play. The principles will clearly point out your duty. You know 
that your partner has, in all probability, led from a long suit, and you 
must take it for granted he wants you to help him to establish it and 
bring it in. When he led a high card, he was taking the initiative in 
the establishment of his suit ; when he leads a small one, he asks you 
to take the initiative, and your course is, therefore, more important to 
him. The French call this lead V invite ; your partner inviting you to 
show what you can do to aid him. 

How, then, can you best do this ? The answer is easy. You must 
recollect that his lead of a small card shows he has not already the 
full command of the suit, to obtain which he wants to get certain high 
cards out of the way. The mode, therefore, in which you can best help 
him is, by playing the highest card you have. If it wins the trick, all 
well and good ; if it is taken by the fourth hand, there is still a valu- 
able result obtained, for two high cards (if you have been able to play 
a high one) are thus got out of your partner's way at once. Suppose, 
for instance, he leads from king, knave, and small ones, and that you 
put on the queen, which is taken by the ace ; your partner's suit is thus 
established in one round only, a result that may be very profitable to 
him. 

If you happen to hold queen and ace, you are at liberty to finesse 
the queen, playing out the ace afterwards as above stated ; but gener- 
ally you must comply with the principle by putting on the highest 
card you have. 

RETURN OF THE LEAD. 

But you have a further duty to perform — in regard to what you now 
know to be your partner's long suit— i.e., when a suitable opportunity 
arises, you have to help him further in regard to it, by leading it again 
for him, or, as it is called, returning it. This is not only a benefit to 
him, but it is also a considerable advantage to you, as supplying you 
with a useful object for a lead. 

STow you must apply to our philosophical theory to guide you how to 
return your partner's lead with the best advantage to the combined 
hands. 



80 WHIST. 

The key to the problem is the consideration of what yonr partner 
desires, namely, to establish his suit. Suppose you had originally 
three cards of it, say the ace, knave and four ; your partner having led 
a small one you win with the ace — which of the two others, the knave 
or the four, ought you to lead in returning ? You must recollect that, 
to carry out your partner's object of establishing the suit, the high cards 
have to be got out of his way as early as possible ; and you will facili- 
tate this object much better by returning the knave than the four. The 
knave will probably be sacrificed, but this will be for your partner's 
benefit. His best card may be the queen, when your knave will force 
out the king, and leave the suit established with the queen as master 
card. 

Whereas, if you led the four, your partner's queen might be taken by 
the king, and then your partner's suit would not be established, as your 
knave (then the best card) would stand, in his way, or " block his 
suit, " as it is termed. 

It is a general rule, of which the above is an example, that if you are 
short in your partner's long suit, the best use you can make of your 
high cards is to sacrifice them, if necessary for him. This is called 
" strengthening" play, and the import of the term will be evident when 
it is considered that the removal of every high card out of the way in- 
creases^ the value of those below it, by promoting their rank — a process 
tending directly towards the prompt establishment of the long suit, 
which is the object desired. 

Now, suppose you have ace, knave and two small ones— say four and 
three. After winning your partner's lead of the small card with the 
ace, which ought you to return ? Here you have a right to consider 
yourown hand, as you are fairly strong in the suit yourself, and you 
should return the three ; for the sacrifice of the knave is not required, 
and it cannot block your partner's suit, as you have still a small one 
left to give him after you have played the knave to the third round. 

Hence, the rales have been laid down — 

In returning your partner's suit, if you have only tivo left, return 
the highest ; if more than two, the lowest. 

This rule is also very valuable as giving information to your partner, 
who is of course much interested to know where the cards of his suit 
lie. If after you return the knave he sees you drop the four he will 
know you have no other. But if after you return the three he sees 
you play the four, he will know you have still at least one of the suit 
left. For this reason philosophy requires you as a matter of principle 
and uniformity, to adhere to the rule even though the original object 



THE PKINCIPLES OF MODEKN WHIST. 81 

dependent on the value of the cards, may no longer exist. Suppose, 
for example, you held originally ace, five and four, after winning with 
the ace you must return the five ; if you held ace, ^ve^ four and three, 
you must return the three. 

It is generally advisable that before returning your partner's lead you 
should open your own suit, if you have a moderately good one, in 
order to inform your partner ; for otherwise, when he has the lead 
again, if he cannot go on with his own suit, he may be obliged to lead 
at random, which is often the bane of Whist play. 

The rules for the return of the lead imply, of course, that the lead 
has been a normal one, from a long suit; if you have reason to think it 
has been a " forced " lead, it must not be returned, or at least not in 
the same way. 

COMMAND OF THE LONG SUIT. 

There is a rule intimately connected with the preceding, but in a 
more general form, namely : 

Bo not retain the best card of your partner's long suit The reason 
is obvious ; the establishment of the suit, which he aims at, means, in 
other words, obtaining the full command, which, if you keep the best 
card, he cannot do. 

The converse rule : 

Keep the command of an adversary's suit as long as you conven- 
iently can, only requires enunciation as a matter of form. You have, 
however, to consider that if you hold a master card too long, it may be 
lost by trumping ; and for this reason it is usual, under ordinary con- 
ditions, not to hold it up beyond the second round. 

It may be added that " getting out of your partner's way " in com- 
plicated cases becomes almost a special art, and full directions on it 
will be found in ' ' Cavendish . " , 

MANAGEMENT OF TKTJMPS. 

So soon as you have acquired information as to the position and in- 
tentions of any of the players in regard to trumps, your duties become 
very important, and must be carefully regulated by philosophical 
considerations, or you may not only lose the chance of doing much 
good, but may do a great deal of positive mischief. 

In the first place, suppose your partner leads trumps. You then infer, 
by the considerations in Chapter II, that he wants to get them out ; 
and it is your duty to help him in this object. Hence it is clear that, 
if you win the first trick in them, or if, losing it, you get the lead again 



82 WHIST. 

anyhow before your partner, you are bound to return trumps imme- 
diately. This is perhaps the most imperative of all Whist rnles. The 
card to return is determined by the considerations already given. 

Again, your partner not having the opportunity of leading, may call 
for trumps ; and as will be clear from what has been said, you are 
bound to lead trumps in answer to the call the first opportunity. The 
answer to the call is considered as equivalent to a return lead, and the 
cards to play are determined on the same principle. If you have less 
than four, you begin with the highest ; if four or more, with the lowest ; 
unless you hold the ace, when, for the sake of getting two rounds 
certain, you play it out, even at the risk of misleading your partner as 
to the number you hold. # 

But the knowledge that your partner is strong in trumps brings 
other duties upon you, as the philosophical theory will easily explain. 

The importance of numerical strength in trumps has been made so 
evident in Chapter II, that it will readily be understood what a disad- 
vantage a loss of one of them must be. Hence, under the above condi- 
tion, it would be most improper to damage your partner's prospects 
and intentions by " forcing " him to trump a trick when he is short of 
a suit, and you must carefully avoid the risk of doing so. 

On the other hand, conversely, when one of your adversaries has de- 
clared strength in trumos, your policy is, of course, to force him when- 
ever you can. 

THE DISCAED. 

. Chapter II contains the philosophical principle regulating the discard 
so long as you are in ignorance of the contents of the hands, in which 
case you are directed to discard from your shortest or weakest suit. 

But when you obtain information, this rule may possibly be influenced 
thereby, the case turning on where the strength of trumps may be de- 
clared to lie. If the strength is on your side, then the above rule still 
remains good. But if the strength of trumps is declared to be with the 
adversaries, then the following reasoning comes in : The object of the 
original rule was to preserve your long suit, in case it might be brought 
in ; but if the strength of trumps is against you, this object may be 
given up as impracticable, and you must change your tactics to a de- 
fensive policy. Xow, it often happens that in your short suits you may 
have, say, a king guarded, or a queen or knave doubly guarded ; and it 
would be a pity to destroy the guard to one of them for the sake of an 
unattainable object, as it might make a trick and perhaps save the 
game, or it might be still more useful to obstruct the long suit of one 



THE PRINCIPLES OF MODERN WHIST. 83 

of the adversaries. It would be less disadvantageous to throw away a 
small card of your long suit, as you would even then have probably 
more left than would be of use to you. 

But the discard is of so much importance as a means of information 
to your partner, that if you adopt this policy you must be consistent, 
and adopt it in all cases of adverse strength in trumps, whether or not 
you have the guarded cards that rendered it necessary ; and hence it 
has, in modern play, become a rule, and a very proper one : 

Whenever the strength in trumps is clearly shown to lie with your 
adversaries, you must reverse the ordinary ride in regard to your first 
discard, which must in this case be from your longest and best protected 
suit, or at least from the s,uit which you wish your partner to lead you. 

In ordinary cases a lead of trumps, or a call for trumps on the part of 

the adversaries, may be sufficient to determine the question of strength ; 

but it is not always so, for it may happen that your own side may turn 

out the stronger, in which case the ordinary rule should be adhered to. 

LEADING TO YOUR PARTNER'S DISCARD. 

It has been shown, in this Chapter and in Chapter II, how your part- 
ner may, before leading, communicate to you the knowledge of what is 
his suit, by the medium of the discard, and it may often happen that 
you get the opportunity in this way of leading his suit for him before 
he can open it himself. 

In this case you mast treat your play as a return of the lead, although 
it is really anticipatory of it, i e., you must adopt strengthening play, 
leading him out your highest if you have not more than three. It is, 
in fact, the same case as a response to a call for trumps ; your partner 
" calls " for a certain plain suit, and you must lead it to him as you 
would answer a trump signal. 

QUESTIONS OF POSITION. 

Another obvious use to be made of information obtained is, to take 
advantage of any disclosures that have been made, as to certain posi- 
tions of cards that appear to open opportunities of making tricks with 
comparatively low cards. 

Suppose, for example, your right-hand adversary has shown, in a 
previous trick, that he has no high hearts; if you lead a heart it affords 
your partner the opportunity of winning the trick with a comparitively 
small card. Hence the rule, that it is good to lead up to a weak hand. 

If, on the contrary, the indications have shown that any player is 
strong in a suit, it is obviously not good to lead up to him, for you may 
thereby sacrifice good cards of your partner's ; therefore — 



84 WHIST. 

Avoid leading up to a strong hand. 

The converse rule — 

It is good to lead through a strong hand, and bad to had through 
a wealc one, is generally well-founded, but is not capable of such defi- 
nite proof as the others. In fact, we begin here to approach[the boundary 
of the region of personal skill and judgment, in regard to which it is 
impossible to give definite rules 



CHAPTEE VI. 

CONCLUSION.— ADVICE TO STUDENTS. 

From what has been said in the foregoing chapters, an idea may 
now be formed of what qualifications are necessary to constitute a really 
good Whist Player. 

In the first place, he must have a competent understanding and ap- 
preciation of the general philosophical system which forms the basis of 
Modern Whist Play. He must have a fair knowledge of the applica- 
tion thereto of the calculations of probabilities, and must intelligently 
enter into* the nature of the logical reasoning by which the various 
problems of the case are determined and solved. 

Secondly, he must have a thorough acquaintance with the codes of 
rules which have been drawn up for practical use, and such a familiarity 
with them as shall ensure their prompt application. It is not sufficient 
that he should know these as mere forms ; he must understand their 
origin, derivation, and objects, in order to be able to distinguish the 
cases where they are strictly applicable from those where they may 
fail, or may be of doubtful propriety. And his knowledge must extend, 
not merely to the important rules themselves, but to all the shades of 
detailed modification in their practice which have been dictated by 
acute reasoning, or by extended and careful observation and experience. 

Thus much may be called " Book-learning, " which, though not suf- 
ficient of itself to make a good player, is absolutely necessary to 
enable any one to merit that title. Beyond this, personal qualifica- 
tions come into play. 

Thirdly, the player, if he is to take high rank, must be able to give 
the most careful attention to the cards as they fall, and must possess 
the faculty of drawing rapid and accurate inferences as to the facts de- 
ducible therefrom. And he must devote particular attention, in this 
way, to the intercommunications between himself and his partner, so 
as to carry out, to the fullest extent, the combination of the hands. 



THE PRINCIPLES OF MODERN WHIST. 85 

And lastly, he must bring to bear on the game, at every stage, a 
sound and clear judgment, so as to take the best advantage of its ever- 
changing positions and accidents. He must extend this judgment even 
to the personalities of his partner and his opponents, taking the meas- 
ure of their knowledge and skill, and adapting his play accordingly. 
He must be able to perceive when critical positions arise, and to meet 
them by exceptional or irregular piay ; and he must have the ability by 
an occasional dexterous " coup n to effect some desired result which, to 
an ordinary player, would have been quite unattainable. 

To do all this perfectly is no light matter, and it is no wonder that the 
effort to do it, in a more or less perfect degree, should present a power- 
ful attraction for intelligent minds. There is, probably, no intellectual 
recreation, the exercise of which so well repays in interest the trouble 
spent upon it; and there is certainly none in which the degree of per- 
fection attained famishes a better test of the mental powers. An emi- 
nent statesman once said that he would be content to choose a prime 
minister by his Whist- playing. 

But large as is the demand that Whist, when finely played, may 
make on the ability and talent of the player, it must not be supposed 
that its acquisition, to a more moderate extent, involves any great diffi- 
culty ; for it is one of the peculiar attributes of the philosophical game 
that, from its systematic structure, a moderate proficiency in it is very 
easy to acquire. It is infinitely easier than the groping in the dark 
which untaught persons are accustomed to use, and which is neither 
intelligible nor teachable. So easy are the first principles of the art, 
that we have known an intelligent child, of seven years of age who 
(being properly taught) could go through the formalities of the game 
with tolerable correctness, and who made a very good and satisfactory 
partner. 

It is one of the objects of this work to aid those who earnestly aspire 
to a knowledge of the game in its best form, and we cannot do better 
than conclude by offering a few words of guidance to them. 

First, then, we say to the student you must be convinced that you 
have something to learn. It is the want of appreciation of this truth that 
accounts for such a general prevalence of bad play. People fancy they 
can become good players by mere practice, which is a great mistake ; 
they only move on in one eternal blundering round. The philosophical 
game has been the result of years upon years of elaborate thought and 
incessant experiment, and you can no more arrive at it by your own 
limited experience than you could become acquainted with modern 
scientific astronomy by watching for a few weeks the apparent motion 



86 WHIST. 

of the stars. And, further, if you have already learnt and practised 
Whist on the erroneous principle of considering merely your own hand, 
you must wipe out all that, and make a tabula rasa, on which true 
knowledge can be inscribed. 

Your mind being thus clear from any of the false notions that pre- 
vail among untaught players, will easily be impressed with the import- 
ance of the great fundamental principle of the combination of the bauds, 
which, through the entire study of the game is always to be kept stead- 
fastly in view. And you will, of course, begin by making yourself 
familiar with the rules founded on it. But in doing this, it is highly 
desirable to confine your attention, in the first instance, to the simplest 
and broadest precepts, and not to distract the mind at the outset by too 
much detail. To aid in this, it may be useful here to put down a few 
simple Elementary Eules which are of the most importance to begin- 
ners. They do not pretend to be anything like a complete code, but if 
fully mastered for ready application in practice, they will at once 
enable their possessor to make a fair beginning as a "Whist player on 
the proper system. 



SIMPLE ELEMENTARY RULES 

CHARACTERIZING THE PHILOSOPHICAL GAME OF WHIST. 

GENEKAL PRINCIPLES. 

Remember that the great fundamental principle of Philosophical 
"Whist is the combination of the hands of the two partners. 

For which reason it is of the highest importance that yon should 
watch, and draw inferences from, the fall of your partner's cards, with 
the view of gaining information as to his hand; and that yon should 
play yonr own cards very carefully, in order to give him information as 
to yours. 

THE OPENING. 

Let your first plain -suit lead be from your longest suit, which gives 
your partner the most ample and positive information. 



THE PRINCIPLES OF MODERN WHIST. 87 

In this suit — 

IF YOU HOLD ' LEAD 

Ace and king. King, then ace. 

King and queen King. 

Ace, queen, knave Ace, then qneen. 

Queen, knave, ten Queen. 

Knave, ten, nine Knave. 

King, knave, ten Ten. 

Ace and four or more small ones . . Ace. 
In other cases, lead the lowest; or, if you hold five or more cards, 
the lowest but one. 

RETURN OF YOUR PARTNER'S SUIT. 

If you have not more than two left, return the highest ; if more, the 
lowest. But in any case get rid of the commanding card. 

MANAGEMENT OF TRUMPS. 

If you hold five trumps, lead them ; and if they contain an honour, 
call for them. 

If your partner leads trumps, it is imperative that you return them 
the first opportunity. 

If he calls for them, you must lead them for him as early as you can ; 
if you hold three or less, play out your best ; if more than three your 
lowest. 

Do not force your partner if he has shown strength in trumps, or if 
(being in ignorance of this) you are weak in them yourself. 

But force a strong adverse trump hand whenever you can. 

Do not trump a doubtful trick second hand if you have four or more 
trumps ; if you have less do so. 

SECOND HAND. 

Generally play your lowest card. 

But if you hold ace and king, or king and queen, play the lowest 
of them. 

THIRD HAND. 

Generally play your highest. But with ace and queen you should 
finesse the queen, playing out the ace afterwards. 

SECOND; THIRD, OR FOURTH HAND. 
Always play the lowest card of a sequence. 



88 WHIST. 

DISCARDING. 

As a general rule discard from your shortest suit. 
But if strength of trumps is declared against you, reverse the rule 
and discard from your most numerous one. 

LN ALL POSITIONS. 

Avcid playing "false " cards, and be very careful in playing even the 
smallest cards, lest you may deceive your partner. 

These rules, simple and short as they are will, when firmly impressed 
on the mind, so as to be ready for prompt use, put you in possession 
of the main points of the modern system, and when their spirit is once 
acquired and appreciated, the great portion of the learning is done. 
You will then be surprised to find how different the game has become 
from that of the uninitiated ; how much more intellectual, how much 
more interesting, and how much more simple and easy. All the blind- 
fold hap-hazard stumbling has disappeared ; everything you do has now 
a clear meaning and object, and you are enabled to appreciate the play 
of a hand as no longer a mere jumble of chance events, but as a connected 
series of combinations guided by intelligence and design. 

Practise as much as possible with good players ; but do not be turned 
aside from correct play by unsound criticism, or by unfavorable results, 
both of which you will have to encounter. Neither be discouraged by 
finding you have made mistakes and played badly, for even good players 
are liable to this at times. Clay, who associated with far better players 
than you will be at this stage, used to say that he won more by his ad- 
versaries' mistakes than by his own skill. 

It is very essential to draw a proper distinction between errors of 
different kinds. This is very seldom done in the wranglings and disputes 
one hears after the play of a hand, when an unfortunate partner is re- 
proached for bad play with no kind of qualification. There are three 
clearly distinct kinds of errors which may be (and constantly are) made, 
namely, errors of form ; errors from want of attention; and errors from 
mistaken judgment. By errors of form are meant contraventions of the 
established book rules, such as playing false* cards, leading wrongly, 
returning the wrong cards, not returning trumps, forcing the partner 
improperly, and so on ; these errors are the least excusable, whether 
they arise from ignorance, which ought to be corrected, or perversity, 
which ought to be reproved . Errors from want of attention, such as 
trumping your partner's best card, or omitting to take advantage of any 
sort of intimation that has been clearly given by the fall of the cards, 



THE PRINCIPLES OF MODERN WHIST. 89 

should be viewed more leniently, as the power to keep up the attention 
varies very much in different persons, and even in the same person at 
different times. Errors in judgment, which consist in not doing the 
best thing possible in difficult or doubtful situations, are the most ex- 
cusable of all, seeing that there is generally room in these cases for 
difference of opinion, and that it often requires a fine player to see at 
the right moment what is the best thing to be done. 

Do not abuse the statement made in all good Whist-books, that rules 
ought sometimes to be departed from. This is true ; but to judge cor- 
rectly when and how such departure should be made is one of the 
attributes of the very best players. There is no greater nuisance at a 
"Whist-table than a young player who, though he knows what the rules 
of good play are, is coustantly breaking them because he thinks he can 
do something better. And, conversely, there is no more satisfactory 
partner than one who, even with a little self-denial to his own inclina- 
tions, keeps his play within the accustomed bounds, and so renders it 
fully trustworthy. 

At an early stage of practice your attention will naturally be directed 
to the question to the question of memory. In regard to this subject 
there is a vast amount of misunderstanding among the public in general. 

Most people who do not play Whist, and do not care to take the 
trouble of learning, excuse themselves by saying u they have no mem- 
ory for it." They imagine that the great art in playing consists in 
remembering every card that falls ; and it is not uncommon to hear 
somebody spoken of as a very fine player because he can tell the four 
cards left in the hands before the last trick. All this is pure delusion. 
The necessity of remembering all the cards that fall is a fiction : no one 
attemps to do it, or needs to do it. The effort of memory required for 
fairly good playing is very moderate indeed, and such as no one need 
despair of being able to apply, when the game is learnt systematically. 
For it is one of the best features ofphilosophical play, that it immensely 
simplifies the exercise and application of the mnemonic faculty, by 
showing to wlmt points it is most important to direct attention. 

This may be easily gathered from the explanations given in previous 
chapters, which suggest the following hints: 

1. In the modern game the trumps occupy the most prominent place, 
and your first effort of memory must, therefore, be directed to these ; 
begin by counting them, quite positively and distinctly, as they fall, 
and you will soon take a special pleasure in finding your mental 
"thirteen" corresponding with the fall of the last trump upon the 
table. 



90 WHIST. 

2. The next thing to attend to is to notice and recollect the fall of 
the high trumps. Try always to remember the play of the four honors 
and if you then extend your memory to the ten and the nine, you will 
go as far as the general run of moderate players pretend to. 

3. After the trump suit the most important thing to you is your own 
long suit. Let this, therefore, have your next attention. It is better, 
at first, not to attempt actually to count the cards falling of any suit 
except trumps; but you will find that the counting may be done 
almost instinctively, by certain indications that you will soon be familiar 
with. For example : suppose you have four cards of your suit ; if it goes 
round three times, you will at once know you hold the thirteenth ; if 
one player fails the third time, then some one besides yourself has one 
left for the fourth round; and so on. Again, suppose you hold five 
cards, and the suit having gone round twice, three cards fall the third 
time; then you should know that you hold the only two left ; if two 
only fall the third round, there is still one besides your own to fall 
on the fourth round ; and so on. 

4. Then you must try to remember the fall of the highest cards in your 
suit, in order to know whether you possess the full command, or 
whether there may be a master card still in your way. 

5. After this, the next thing in importance is your partner's long 
suit, which you note by his first lead, and have to return to him. 

These things do not require any extraordinary memory, and if you 
accomplish them you will do very well. Any surplus power you have 
may be then employed on the general observation of the fall of the 
cards, and the meaning of the inferences to be drawn from them. 

You should bear in mind that a habit of observation is much more 
important than memory ; for when people complain that they do not 
recollect the fall of certain cards, they imply that they did not atten- 
tively observe them when they fell. If a player really observes that 
the queen of hearts is played to a trick, he is hardly likely to forget it 
a minute later. The books tell you to "keep your eyes on the table,' ' 
and not on your own cards ; but that is not enough. Tou must pay at- 
tention to the cards as they fall ; and if you do this, your memory will 
repay you for your trouble. 

It is best to trust to your natural memory only, and not to adopt any 
artificial contrivances for aiding it, such as putting certain cards in par- 
ticular places, and so on. All snch mnemonic arrangements do mis- 
chief; even the plan — so common with inferior players— of placing the 
trumps always in the same part of the hand, is simply childish; for a 
player who cannot recollect what is the trump suit, merely shows he is 



THE PKHtfCIPLES OE MODEKN WHIST. 91 

taking no interest in the game. The only kind of arrangement really 
to be recommended is the careful sorting and counting of your cards at 
the beginning of the hand: this not only facilitates correct play, but 
may also aid your recollection of how the suits have gone. 

In practising the simple rules above laid down, you will gradually 
discover that they admit of a good deal of amplification and extension 
in points of detail, which, after a time, you must make yourself ac- 
quainted with. For this purpose you must consult the works of " Cav- 
endish " and Clay, where all details are fully and carefully explained, 
and your mastering these will advance you another and a very great 
step in sound play. 

You may then be supposed to have become thoroughly familiar with 
the philosophical system j you will speak the language of the game with 
fluency and correctness ; and, if you have cultivated your habits of ob- 
servation and inference, you may be credited with a facile interpretation 
of it when it is spoken to you. You may then turn your attention to 
the accidents of play, which have the object of taking advantage of 
particular situations. You will find plenty of examples of these in 
"Cavendish's" published " Hands," and many others in Hoy le and 
Matthews, which you may at this period study with advantage. And 
here you will find the field gradually opening for your personal skill ; 
your knowledge of system has already made you a sound trustworthy 
player, and you have then to advance into the first rank, and mount 
as high in it as your ability and your genius will allow you. You 
must not expect to get on too fast, as you may be years before you 
really excel ; but do not be discouraged, as you are in the right way, 
and with reasonable effort you cannot help improving. 

This fact is one of the most remarkable characteristics of the philo- 
sophical game. The old unscientific mode of play admits of no pro- 
gress. Even a man of superior ability, after playing by it for years, 
finds his skill limited to the mere practice now and then of a few clever 
strokes in an accidental way, and has no more general power over the 
management of a hand than he had when he first began. But when the 
play is founded on system, every year's practice must make its work- 
ing more perfect and more comprehensive, and must open a surer way 
for the attainment of the highest aims. 



WHIST. 



POLE'S PROBABILITIES AT WHIST. 

The application of philosophical principles to the theory and practice 
of Whist is a study which not only inclndes much that is interesting, 
but also possesses positive and practical value. 

Dr. William Pole, in his recently published work on " The Philoso- 
phy of Whist, " furnishes with elaborate research and mathematical 
precision the probabilities which occur in various phases and stages of 
the game, founded upon and deduced from actual experiment and 
carefully recorded results. 

Experienced players have long been aware that the common odds or 
5 to 2 on the winners of the first game taking the rubber are not long 
enough, and that the betting should be, instead, three to one, to be in- 
creased if both deal and skill are in favor, but diminished in the contrary 
case. 
Mr. Perceval's record of 16,000 rubbers shows the following results : 
"The 16,000 rubbers consisted of 39,974 games, and counted 86,687 
points, being an average of 5.411 points per rubber. 

"8,026 rubbers were won in two games, 7,974 rubbers required 
three. 

" In 12,080 cases the winners of the first game won the rubber; in 
3,920 they lost it. 

" Out of the 39,974 games 21,004 were trebles ; 9,522 were doubles ; 
and 9,448 were single games. 

1 ' In cutting for the first deal of the rubber it was won by S. P. or his 
partner 7,934 times, and lost by them 8,066 times; the difference 
against them being thus 132, or about 0.825 per cent, on the whole 
number of cuts. 

"In the separate games, the first deal fell to S. P. or his partner 19,- 
543 times, and to the adversaries 20,431 times, giving an adverse differ- 
ence of 888. This difference seems very large, and difficult to account 
for." 

Upon this record Dr. Pole has based several interesting calculations 
concerning the value of personal skill, one of whicli deserves to be re- 
produced. 
The reader will understand that .500 represents an even chance. 



PROBABILITIES AT MODERN "WHIST. 93 

PROBABILITY OF WINNING A SINGLE GAME. 

With deal and skill 0.534 

"With deal, skill being even.. 0.523 

With deal, against skill 0.512 

Ignoring both deal and skill 0. 500 

With skill, ignoring deal 0.511 

With skill, against the deal . .0.488 

Against both deal and skill 0.466 

Or, to present the matter still more briefly, the advantage of the 
deal is about 11 to 10, and of skill about 21 to 20. 

The probability of a given player holding any given number of cards of 
a particular suit, named before the deal is concluded, has been calcu- 
lated by Dr. Pole as follows : 

NUMBER OE CARDS WHICH WILL BE HELD. 

of a suit once in 80 deals. 

1 of a suit 80 times in 1,000 deals. 

2 of a suit 206 times in 1,000 deals. 

3 of a suit 287 times in 1,000 deals. 

4 of a suit 239 times in , 1,000 deals. 

5 of a suit 125 times in 1,000 deals. 

6 of a suit once in 24 deals. 

7 of a suit once in 114 deals. 

8 of a suit once in 860 deals. 

9 of a suit once in 12.100 deals. 

10 of a suit once in 243,000 deals. 

11 of a suit once in 11,000,000 deals. 

12 of a suit once in 1,250,000,000 deals. 

13 of a suit once in 635,000,000,000 deals. 

When dwelling upon these figures it may be well to say that the 
number of different hands which any single player at Whist may ob- 
tain from a pack of 52 cards, without ever repeating the same combina- 
tion of cards, is 635,013,559,600, and that the 52 cards maybe distrib- 
uted among four players in 53,644,737,765,488,792,839,237,440,000 
different ways. 

These immense figures show that if the entire population of the earth 
were to play at Whist all day and during their whole lives, they could 
not exhaust all possible hands. 



94 WHIST. 

PROBABLE NUMBER OF TRUMPS HELD BY A DEALER OR NON- 
DEALER IN 1 ; 000 DEALS. 

Trumps. Dealer. Non-Dealer. 

17 

1 or more. 1,000 983 

2 or more. 975 885 

3 or more. 846 951 

4 or more. 585 375 

5 or more. 292 137 

6 or more. 100 35 

7 or more. 23 5 

8 or more. 4 — 

9 or more. 1 — 

Or, to present the conclusion in a form easily to be remembered, the 
average number of trumps held by the dealer is 3.82, and by the non- 
dealer 3.06. From Dr. Pole's table one important deduction is to be 
made ; if the dealer's partner holds only one trump, the chances are 48 
iu 100 (or nearly even) that the dealer holds five trumps, or more, so 
that there is justification for the well-known instinct of good players to 
lead a single trump if it is a tolerably high one and they have otherwise 
good cards. But if the dealer holds only one trump, the chances of his 
partner holding five or over are only 35 in 100 ; and if the deal is with 
the adversary they are reduced to 28 — an effect often under-rated, or 
completely overlooked. 

Dr. Pole elaborates a series of calculations of no little importance 
exhibiting the number of times that a suit will probably go around 
when one player holds a given number of cards of that suit. The most 
practical table is as follows : 

PROBABLE NUMBER OE TIMES A GIYEN SUIT WILL GO 
AROUND IN 1,000 DEALS. 

Cards held by leader 4 5 6 7 8 

Suit will go around : Once or more 956 937 878 800 685 

Twice or more 642 570 341 143 

Thrice 158 

Imperfect shuffling, it should be added, will cause the suits to go 
around oftener. 



PROBABILITIES AT MODERN WHIST. 95 

PROBABILITIES AFFECTING THE LEAD OF THE ACE FROM 
ACE AND FOUR SMALL CARDS. 

Dr. Pole also discusses the probabilities affecting the lead of the ace 
from ace and four small ones in plain suits, a lead the propriety of 
which has at times been called in question. 

The usual rule, as every one knows, is to begin with the ace, lest the 
suit should be trumped on the second round. 

The probability of making the ace on the first round is 958 in 1,000 
— in other words, the chances are 24 to 1, while if a small card is led, 
the leader will probably make one trick in the suit 836 times in 1,000 
deals. 

The odds in favor of opening with the ace, are, therefore, about 8 to 
7, but it may very fairly be doubted whether this difference is so great 
as to be absolutely conclusive. 

As to the information afforded to the partner by the lead of the ace, 
followed by a small one, as much would certainly be given by begin- 
ning with the penultimate ; and those who believe with Hoyle that " by 
passing the ace twice " three tricks may be made by one's own hand 
alone have at least a reasonable ground for their faith and practice. 

PROBABILITIES AFFECTING THE PLAY OF THE KING AND A 
SMALL CARD, SECOND HAND. 

Dr. Pole has made some excellent calculations concerning the play 
of the king and a small card second hand, a small one being led. 

This curious problem has furnished a never-ending topic for discus- 
sion ever since Whist was invented, and it appears likely to continue 
to do so as long as Whist survives in its present form. There is now a 
tolerably concurrent opinion as to what it is best to do ;' bat in none of 
the discussions that have taken place has there been any serious at- 
tempt to apply to the case the laws of probabilities, which are in mod- 
ern days so well understood as bearing on Whist problems. 

It has been customary to assume that when a small card was led the 
ace was equally likely to be in the hand of the leader, or of the third 
or fourth player, the fact being overlooked that 40 times out of 100 the 
lead of a small card indicates the non-possession of the ace. 

We have not room to follow, or even to summarize, the computations, 
but their result may be given as follows : 

If a player holds king and a small card second hand, and a small one 
is led on the right, it is probable that the ace will lie with the leader 
180 times in 1,000, with the third hand 410 times, and with the fourth 
hand 410. 



96 WHIST. 

Dismissing the fourth hand as immaterial, since that player will not* 
put the ace on his partner's king unless he is compelled to do so— a 
contingency not worth considering— it appears that the king put on 
will win the trick 590 times in 1,000, or about six times in ten. 

This is with reference to plain suits. In trumps the case is different. 

The leader has probably more trumps than any one else, and is more 
likely than he would be in plain suits to keep up the ace ; in fact, when 
second hand holds king and a small trump is led to the right, it is 
probable that the ace will lie with the leader 400 times in 1,000, with 
the third hand 300, with the fourth also 300, so that putting on the king 
would win the trick seven times out of ten. 

The difference between the practice in plain suits and in trumps 
commended itself to Clay, though the reason which he gives shows 
that he was guided by experience, not by any study of the philosophy 
of the subject. 

But there are several other considerations affecting the problem, so 
that it will perhaps be well to give the summing up of Dr. Pole's in- 
vestigations in his own words : 

" In plain suits the advantage, on the ground of the strict probabili- 
ties, is with the play of the small card in the first round, and this is 
in some degree enhanced by the exposure of the hand consequent upon 
the play of the king. In trumps there appears, on the ground of the 
strict probabilities, a slight advantage for the play of the king, but this 
is largely outweighed by the increased disadvantage of the exposure 
and the greater opportunity of adverse finessing. 

" If it be desired to win the first trick, the king put on will win it, 
on the average, in trumps seven times out of ten ; in plain suits, rather 
less than six times out often. 

" If it be desired to win at least one trick in the suit, there appears a 
little advantage in playing the king in trumps and the small card in 
plain suits ; but tbe difference is not great either way." 



DUMMY WHIST. 

This is played by three players. 

One hand, called Dummy's, lies exposed on the table. 

The laws are the same as those of Whist, with these exceptions ; 

I. Dummy deals at the commencement of each rubber. 

II. Dummy is not liable to the penalty for a revoke, as his adversaries 
see his cards ; should he *revoke and the error not be discovered until the 

* That is — Dummy's hand. If Dummy's partner revokes, he is liable to the usual 
penalties. 



WHIST. 97 

trick is turned and quitted, it stands good, and the hand proceeds as 

though the revoke had not been discovered, 

III. Dummy being blind and deaf, his partner is not liable to any pen- 
alty for an error whence he can gain no advantage. Thus, he may ex- 
pose some, or all of his cards — or may declare that he has the game, cr 
trick, etc., without incurring any penalty; if, however, he lead from 
.Dummy's hand when he should lead from his own, or vice versd, a suit 
may be called from the hand which ought to have led. 

Mr. Clay gives a method of playing Dummy, which he considers vastly 
superior to the old-fashioned game. He describes it thus: 

"Single games are played and not rubbers, and each player plays one 
in his turn. Honors are not counted, but each trick counts for one, and 
the winning of the game for four. Thus, if twelve tricks out of the thir- 
teen are made, the value of the game is fifteen points, viz., eleven for 
tricks and four for the game. And if all thirteen tricks are made, which 
is commonly called the grand slum, the winner receives seventeen points 
froni each adversary, viz., thirteen for the tricks and four for the game 
points. But this hand does not count towards the game in which 
it has occurred, and that game proceeds as if no grand slam had been 
made. 

** When Dummy Whist is played in this way, no hands are thrown up, 
as every trick is of value, and a nice calculation frequently occurs 
whether it may not be right to jeopardize even the winning of the game, 
in order to take the chance of making a very large score." 

This is a game from which whist-players may learn much that had 
previously escaped their attention. 

DOUBLE DUMMY 

Is played by two players, each having a Dummy or exposed hand for his 
partner. The laws of the game do not differ from Dummy Whist, ex- 
cept in the following special Law : — There is no misdeal, as the deal is a 
disadvantage. 
Mr. Clay gives the following remarkable hand at Double Dummy : 
The most celebrated player in Vienna had to play the hands Nos. 1 
and 3. As soon as the cards were exposed, he exclaimed, " Why, I 
shall make all thirteen tricks !" This appeared impossible to the by- 
standers, for, although his hands were, between them, of commanding 
strength, still his adversary's hands, between them, held every suit 
guarded, except the trump. Large bets were made against the accom- 



98 WHIST, 

plisliment of the feat, which was, however, performed ; and it became 
evident that, if hands 1 and 3 are rightly played, hands 2 and 4 are 
utterly helpless, and in spite of three guarded suits, must lose all thirteen 
tricks. I give the four hands below." 

GREAT VIENNA COUP AT DOUBLE DUMMY. 
HEARTS. CLUBS. 

No 1—4. No, 1.— Ace, King, Queen, 3. 

No. 2.— 10, 9, 2, 5, 6. No. 2.-2, 4, 5. 

No. 3.— Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 3. No. 3. — 6, 7, 8. 
No. 4.-7, 8. No. 4.— Jack, 10, 9. 

DIAMONDS. SPADES. 

No. 1. — Ace, Queen, 2, 4, 5, 6. No. 1. — Ace, Queen. 

No. 2.— Jack, 10, 3. No. 2.— King, 4. 

No. 3.-7, 8. No. 3.— Jack, 10, 3. 

No. 4.— King, 9. No. 4.-9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 2. 

Clubs are trumps. No. 1 leads, and makes all thirteen tricks. 

SOLUTION OF THE GREAT VIENNA COUP. 

This game is won by No. 1 and his dummy partner, by forcing No. 2 
to discard, and thereby to lose the command that he seems to possess in 
. Diamonds and Spades, the only two suits that can cause any trouble 
and is effected as follows : 

No. 1 commences by leading his three highest trumps in succession, 
thus exhausting the trumps in all hands except his own ; he then leads 
his last trump, to which the others must discard. 

If No. 2 discards a Heart or a Diamond, No. 1 must lead, for the 5th 
trick, his Ace of Spades ; and, for the 6th trick, his small Heart, which 
is taken by No. 3 with the Ace. No. 3 now leads his King, Queen, and 
Knave of Hearts in succession, No. 1 being careful to discard his Queen 
of Spades in one of these rounds of Hearts. 

The lead by No. 3 for the 11th round is a critical one, and must de- 
pend on the discard of No. 2 in the 10th round. If No. 2 discarded a 
Spade, No. 3 must lead a Spade. If No. 2 discarded a Diamond, No. 3 
must lead a Diamond ; and the rest of the game is simple. 

But if, at the 4th trick, No. 2 discards a Spade, No. 1 must lead, for 
the 5th round, the Ace of Spades ; and, for the 6th, his Queen of Spades ; 



"WHIST. 99 

then, for the 7th, his small Heart, which throws the lead into No. 3's 
hand, who follows with his King, Queen, and Knave of Hearts; and for 
the 11th round, his Spade, which compels No. 2 to discard one of his 
Diamonds, and thus destroys the command he held in that suit The 
rest of the game is plain. 

THE BOSTON DOUBLE DUMMY PROBLEM. 

This Problem is an exceedingly ingenious one ; and, like the famous 
"Vienna Coup," depends for its success on forcing the opposing hands 
to discard and thus destroying the force of their apparently commanding 
cards. 

The hands are pre-arranged as follows ; 

HEARTS. CLUBS. 

No. 1. -Ace, King, 10, 9. No. 1.— 5, 6. 

No. 2.— Queen, Jack. No. 2.— King, 10, 9, 8. 

No. 3.-2, 3, 4. No. 3.— Ace, Queen, Jack, 3, 2. 

No. 4.- 5, 6, 7, 8. No. 4.-4, 7, 

DIAMONDS. SPADES. 

No. 1.— Ace, King, Jack, 3, 2. No. 1.— Ace, 6. 

No. 2.— Queen, 7. No. 2.— King, 10, 9, 8, 7. 

No. 3—4. No. 3.-2, 3, 4, 5. 

No. 4.-5, 6, 8, 9, 10. No. 4. —Queen, Jack. 

Hearts are trumps. No. 1 to lead ; and, with his partner, No. 3, to 
win all the trieks. 

The solution of this apparent impossibility is as follows : 

No. 1 leads club ; No. 3 takes it with the Jack. 

No. 3 leads diamond ; No. 1 takes it with the Ace. 

No. 1 leads small diamond ; No. 3 takes it with a trump. 

No. 3 leads trump ; No. 1 takes it with the Ace. 

No. 1 leads King of trumps, which secures the trick. 

No. 1 leads King of Diamonds. If No. 2 should now discard a club, 
No. 3 would then take the necessary tricks with clubs. No. 2, therefore, 
discards a spade, and No. 3 plays a spade. 

No. 1 leads Jack of Diamonds ; No. 2 discards a spade (for the same 
reason as before) ; No. 3 plays spade. 

No; 1 leads trump ; No. 2 must discard spade ; No. 3 plays a spade. 



100 WHIST. 

No. 1 again leads trump ; No. 2 must discard a spade ; No. 3 plays a 
small club (keeping spade to give lead to No. 1) 

No. 1 leads clnb ; No. 3 takes it with his Queen. 

No. 3 leads Ace of clubs. If No. 4 discards a diamond, No. 1 will 
then play a small spade, and make with his diamond ; No. 4, therefore, 
discards a spade, and No. 1 plays a diamond. 

No. 3 leads spade ; No. 1 takes it with the Ace. 

No. 1 secures the remaining trick with his small spade. 

ANOTHER SOLUTION OF THE " BOSTON PROBLEM. 77 

An equally ingenious solution of the " Boston Problem " has been sug- 
gested, and secures success in the following manner : 

No. 1 leads King of diamonds ; Nos. 2, 3 and 4 follow suit with their 
lowest cards. 

No. 1 leads Two of diamonds ; No. 2 plays his Queen ; No. 3 trumps 
it with Two of hearts; No. 4 plays Six of diamonds. 

No. 3 leads Three of trumps ; No. 4 plays Five of trumps ; No. 1, 
King; and No. 2, Jack. 

No. 1 leads Five of clubs; No. 2 follows suit with the Eight; No. 3 
takes it with Jack ; No. 4 follows suit. 

No. 3 leads Four of trumps ; No. 4 follows suit ; No. 1 takes it with 
the Ace ; No. 4 plays his Queen. 

Up to this point each player has followed suit, except the trump 
played to the second trick. 

No. 1 now leads successively the Ten of trumps. Nine of trumps, Ace 
of diamonds and Jack of diamonds. These cards take all the four tricks. 
To each of these four leads No. 4 follows suit, and No. 2 must discard 
from his clubs and spades. The play now depends on the cards dis- 
carded by No. 2. 

First. — If No. 2 discards four spades, he retains the King of spades, 
and the King, Ten and Nine of clubs ; and No. 3 discards three spades 
and the Two of clubs, retaining the Ace, Queen, and Three of clubs, and 
the Five of spades. No. 4 retains the Queen and Jack of spades, the 
Seven of clubs, and the Ten of diamonds. 

No. 1 next leads the Six of clubs ; No. 2, the Nine; No. 3, the Queen; 
No. 4, the Seven. 

No. 3 leads Ace of clubs ; 

Now, if No. 4 discards the Ten of diamonds, No. 1 plays Six of spades ; 
No. 2, Ten of clubs. Then, No. 3 leads Five of spades ; and No. 1 makes 
the two tricks with his Ace of spades and Three of diamonds. 



WHIST. 101 

But if, to No. 3's lead of Ace of clubs, No. 4 discards his Jack of 
spades, then No. 1 plays the Three of diamonds. No. 3 next leads Five 
of spades, and No. 1 takes the remaining trick with his Ace and Six of 
spades. 

Second.— If, to the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth tricks, No. 2 dis- 
cards one or more clubs, then No. 1 must lead the tenth tricky with Ace 
of spades, to which all follow suit. 

No. 1 then leads Six of clubs ; and No. 3 wins the remaining tricks 
with his Queen, Ace and Three of clubs. 

STILL ANOTHER SOLUTION. 

No. 1 leads Ace of hearts ; No. 2 plays Jack of hearts ; No. 3, Two of 
hearts ; and No. 4, Five of hearts. 

No. 1 leads King of hearts ; No. 2 plays Queen of hearts ; No. 3, 
Three of hearts; and No. 4, Six of hearts. 

No. 1 leads Ace of diamonds; No. 2 plays Seven of diamonds; No. 3, 
Four of diamonds ; and No. 4, Five of diamonds. 

No. t leads King of diamonds ; No. 2 plays Queen of diamonds ; No. 
3, Two of spades ; and No. 4, Six of diamonds. 

No. 1 leads Jack of diamonds ; No. 2 plays Seven of spades ; No. 3, 
Three of spades ; and No. 4, Eight of diamonds. 

No. 1 leads Three of diamonds ; No. 2 plays Eight of spades; No. 3, 
Four of hearts ; and No. 4, Nine of diamonds. 

No. 3 leads Four of spades ; No. 4 plays Jack of spades ; No. 1, Ace 
of spades ; and No. 2, Nine of spades. 

No. 1 leads Ten of hearts ; No. 2 plays Eight of clubs ; No. 3, Five of 
spades ; and No. 4, Seven of hearts. 

No. 1 leads Nine of hearts; No. 2 plays Nine of clubs; No, 3, Two of 
clubs ; and No. 4, Eight of hearts. 

No. 1 leads Five of clubs ; No. 2 plays Ten of clubs ; No. 3, Queen of 
clubs ; and No. 4, Four of clubs. 

No. 3 leads Ace of clubs ; No. 4 plays Seven of clubs ; No. 1, Six of 
clubs ; and No. 2, King of clubs. 

No. 3 leads Jack of clubs ; No. 4 plays Ten of diamonds; No. 1, Two 
of diamonds; and No. 2, Ten of spades. 

No. 3 leads Three of clubs; No. 4 plays Queen of spades; No. 1, Six of 
spades ; and No. 2, King of spades. 

In the tenth round when No. 1 leads the Five of clubs, No. 2 must 
either play the King or the Ten, either of which can be captured by No. 
3, who, by then leading his highest club, necessarily wins the game. 



Dick & Fitzgerald- 
publishers, NEW YORK. 



POST OFFICE BOX 2975. 



***The Publishers, upon receipt of the Price, will send any of the 
following books by mail, POSTAGE PAID, to any part of the 
United States. In ordering books, the full name, post office. 
County and State should be plainly written. 



Dick's Games of Patience ; or, Solitaire with Cards. New edition with 
twenty new Games and seventeen new illustrations added. Now containing Sixty- 
three Games. Illustrated with Fifty explanatory full-page Tableaux. This treatise 
on Solitaire, a pastime which is steadily gaining in popularity, embraces a number of 
new and original Games, and all the Games of Patience at present in favor with the 
most experienced players. Each game is carefully and lucidly described, with the 
distinctive rules to be observed and hints as to the best means of success in play. 
The Tableaux furnish efficient aid in rendering the disposition of the cards necessary 
to each game plain and easily comprehensible. The difficulty usually attending 
descriptions of intricate games is reduced, as far as possible, by precision in method 
and terseness of expression in the text, and the illustrations serve to dispel any possi- 
ble ambiguity that might be unavoidable without their aid. The work is attractive 
in style and elegant in execution, and will prove an interesting companion for many 

a solitary hour. Quarto. Illustrated. Paper cover 75 cts. 

Cloth $1.00 



The Debater, Chairman's Assistant,- and Rules of Order. A manual 

for Instruction and Reference in all matters pertaining to the management of Public 
Meetings according to Parliamentary usages. It comprises : 



How to Form and Conduct all kinds of Asso- 
ciations and Clubs ; 

How io Organize and Arrange Public Meet- 
ings, Celebrations, Dinners, Picnics and 
Conventions ; 

Forms for Constitutions of Lyceums or Insti- 
tutes, Literary and other Societies ; 

The Powers and Duties of Officers, with Forms 
for Treasurers', Secretaries', and other Offi- 
cial Reports ; 

The Formation and Duties of Committees ; 



Rules of Order and Order of Business, with 
Mode of Procedure in all cases; 

How to Draft Resolutions and other Written 
Business; 

A model Debate, introducing the greatest pos- 
sible variety of points of order, with correct 
decisions b>i the Chairman ; 

The Rules of Order, in Tabular Form, for in- 
stant reference in all cases of Doubt that 
may arise, enabling a Chairman to decide 
on all points at a glance. 



The Work is divided into different Sections, for the purpose of Consecutive Instruction 
as well as Ready Reference, and includes all Decisions and Rulings up to the present 

day. Paper covers 30 Cts. 

Bound in board, cloth back 50 ctfl* 



Popular Books sent Free of Postage at the Prices annexed. 



Blackbridge's ComDlete Poker-Player. A practical Guide-book to 

the American National Game ; containing mathematical and experimental analyses 
of the probabilities of Draw Poker. By John Blacebbidge, Actuary and Counsellor- 
at-law. This, as its title implies, is an exhaustive treatise on Draw Poker, giving 
minute and detailed information on the various chances, expectations, possibili- 
ties and probabilities that can occur in all stages of the game, with directions and 
advice for successful play, deduced from actual practice and experience, and founded 
on precise mathematical data. This comprehensive work contains : — 



How to Play Poker. Design of the 
Work; 

The Amusement Fund. Amounts of 
Stakes. Pecuniary Results of Games; 

Frauds in Playing. Poker Sharps. 
Advantages of the Small-limit Game; 

Practical Advice. Age Seat. Second 
Seat. Diajram of Values of Seats; 

Study of th e Draw. Mathematical Ex- 
pectations ; 

Mode of Playing. Calling. Pat Hands. 
Straight Frush ; 

Straights. Blazes. Jack -Pots and 
other Innovations ; 

The Unlimited Game. Its Dangers ; 

Schenck's Laws and his Apology ; 

The Freeze-Out-Game. Its Advan- 
tages ; 



Percentage at Draw-Poker. Mental 
Laws. The Principles of Success ; 

Poe's Th'ory. Deductive and Inductive 
Methods ; 

Robert Houdin's Theory. Calculations 
of Card- Values ; 

The Go-in- Hand; 

Pole's Probabilities at Draw-Poker ; 

Drawing to Pairs ; 

Table-Slakes ; 

Bluffing ; 

The Raising-Out Conspiracy. Proper 
Duration of Games ; 

Laws of the Game; from the "Ameri- 
can Hoyle ;" 

On Draw-Poker Players ; 

Professor Proctor's S( Poker Princi- 
ples and Chance Laws." 



Small auarto, 173 pages, paper 50 CtS. 

Bound in full cloth $1.00. 

Spayth's American Draught Player; or, The Theory and Practice of 

the Scientific Game of Checkers. Simplified and Illustrated with Practical Diagrams. 
Containing upwards of 1,700 Games and Positions. By Henby Spayth. Sixth edi- 
tion, with over three hundred Corrections and Improvements. Containing : The 
Standard Laws of the Game — Full instructions — Draught-Board Numbered — Names 
of the Games, and how formed — The " Theory of the Move and. its Changes " practi- " 
cally explained and illustrated with Diagrams — Playing Tables for Draught Clubs — 
New Systems of Numbering the Board — Prefixing signs to the Variations — List of 
Draught Treatises and Publications chronologically arranged. 
Bound in cloth, gilt side and back $3. 00 

Marache's Manual of Chess. Containing a description of the Board and 
Pieces, Chess Notation, Technical Terms, with diagrams illustrating them, Laws of 
the Game, Relative value of Pieces, Preliminary Games for Beginners, Fifty Openings 
of Games, giving all the latest discoveries of Modern Masters, with the best games and 
copious notes. Twenty Endings of Games, showing easiest ways of effecting Check 
mate, Thirty-six ingenious Diagram Problems, and sixteen curious Chess Stratagems, 
being one of the best Books for Beginner? ever published. By N. Mabache. 

Bound in boards, cloth back 50 ctS. 

Bound in cloth, gilt side 75 ctS. 

Walker's Crihbage Made Easy. Being a new and complete Treatise 
on the Game in all varieties. By Geo. Walker, Esq. A very comprehensive work 
on this Game. It contains over 500 examples of how to discard for your own and 
your adversary's crib. 142 pages, bound in boards 50 c t3, 

Seatiergood's Game of Draughts, or Checkers, Simplified and Ex- 
plained. With practical Diagrams and Illustrations, together with a Checker-Board, 
nun^^red and printed iu red. Containing the Eighteen Standard Games, with over 
200 of the best variations, selected from various authors, with some never before 
published. By D. Scattebgood. Bound in cloth, with flexible covers 50 ctS, 



Popular Book3 sent Free of Postage at the Prices annexed. 



Dick's Encyclopedia of Practical Receipts and Processes. Containing 

6,422 practical receipts, written in a plain and popular manner, and illustrated with 
explanatory wood-cuts. Being a comprehensive Book of Keference for the Merchant, 
Manufacturer, Artisan, Amateur and Housekeeper, embracing valuable information in 
the Arts, Professions, Trades, Manufactures, including Medicine, Pharmacy and Do- 
mestic Economy. The scope of this work is entirely different from any other book of 
the kind. Besides being a complete and almost indispensable book of reference for the 
thousand and one receipts and articles needed in every household, farm, garden, etc., 
it includes clear and easily understood directions for the application of many of the 
Arts usually acquired only by long experience, and so divested of technicalities, orthe 
technical terms used so fully explained,as to bring the entire subject within the compre- 
hension of any person of ordinary intelligence. It would be difficult to find any one of 
the 6,422 paragraphs in this work (many of which contain several receipts) that is not 
worth at least the price of tho book to the person desiring to apply it. A great number 
of them are original contributions prepared expressly for the Encyclopedia, or are to 
be found only in rare and costly works. The Scientific American says : •' It is worthy 
of a place in the library of any home, work-shop, factory or laboratory." 

607 pages, royal octavo, cloth $5.00 

Sheep 6-00 

What Shall We Do To-night? or Social Amusements for Evening 

Parties. This elegant book affords an almost inexhaustible fund of 
amusement for Evening Parties, Social Gatherings and all Festival Occasions, ingeni- 
ously grouped together bo as to furnish complete and ever-varying entertainment for 
Twenty-six evenings. It embraces all the 
Best Rouvd and Forfeit Games rendered per- 



fectly plain by original examples; a great 
va> iety of Ingenious Puzzles, Entertaining 
Tricks and Innocent Sells; new and original 
Musical and Poetical Pastimes, Startling 
Illusions and Mirth- Provoking Exhibitions, 
including complete directions and text for 



performing Cliarades, Tableaux, Parlor 
Pantomimes, the world -renowned Punch 
and Judy ; Gallanty Shows, Shadow-panto- 
mime ; Dramatic Dialogues and Parlor 
Theatricals, with a selection of Original 
Plays, etc., with full directions for render- 
ing them effective, 



written expressly for this work. It is embellished with over one htjndked desckipttve 
and explanatory engkavings, and contains 366 pages, 12mo, extra cloth $2-00 

Barber's American Book of Ready-Made Speeches. Containing 159 

original examples of Humorous and Serious Speeches, suitable for every possible 
occasion where a speech maybe called for, together with appropriate replies to each. 
Including : 



Presentation Speeches, 
Convivial Speeches, 
Festival Speeches, 
Addresses of Congratulation, 
Addresses of Welcome, 
Addresses of Compliment, 
Political Speeches, 



Dinner and Supper Speeches for Clubs, 

Off-Hand Speeches on a variety of Subjects, 

Miscellaneous Speeches, 

Toasts and Sentimentsfor Public and Private 
Entertainments, 

Preambles and Resolutions of Congratula- 
tion, Compliment and Condolence. 



With this book any person may prepare himself to make a neat little speech or reply to 
one when called upon to do so. They are all short, appropriate and witty, and even 

ready speakers may profit by them. Paper 50 cts. 

Bound in boards, cloth back 75 cts. 



Dick's Original Album Verses and Acrostics. 

Verses. 



Containing Original 



For Autograph Albums; 
To Accompany Bouquets; 
For Birthday Anniversaries; 
For Wooden, Tin, Crystal, Silver and 
Golden Weddings; 



For Album Dedications; 
To Accompany Philopena Forfeits; 
For Congratulations; 
For Valentines in General, and all 
Trades and Professions. 



It contains also Two Hundred and Eighteen Original Acrostic Verses, the initial letters 
of each verse forming a different Lady's Christian name, the meaning and derivation 
of the name being appended to each. The primary object of -this book is to furnish 
entirely fresh and unhackneyed matter for all who may be called upon to fill and 
adorn a page in a Lady's Album; but it contains also new and appropriate verses to 
suit Birthday, Wedding and all other Anniversaries and Occasions to which verses of 

Compliment or Congratulation are applicable. Paper covers 50 cts. 

Bound in full cloth 75 eta. 



Popular Books sent Free of Postage at the Prices annexed. 



Dick's Society Letter Writer for Ladies. Containing MORE 

THAN FIVE HUNDRED entirely Original Letters and Notes, with appropriate 
answers, on all subjects and occasions incident to life in Good Society ; including 
specific instructions in all the details of a well-written letter, and General Hints for 
Conducting Polite Correspondence. Edited by Wm. B. Dick. 

The Contents embrace the following Subjects: 



Hints on Letter Writing 

Letters of Introduction 

Answers to Letters of Introduction 

Letters and Notes of Invitation 

Forms of Cards 

Notes of Postponement 

Letters and Notes Accepting and 

Declining Invitations 
Letters of Apology 
Letters of Announcement 
Notes and Letters Accompanying Gifts 
Notes and Letters of Acknowledgment 
Notes and Letters Soliciting Favors 
Notes and Letters, Offering Favors 
Notes and Letters Granting or Declin- 
ing Favors 



Notes Soliciting Donations 

Notes and Letters Granting or 

Refusing Donations 
Letters of Congratulation 
Letters of Condolence 
Answers to Letters of Condolence 
Household Letters and Notes 
Forms of Household Orders 
Answers to Household Letters 
Business Letters and Notes 
Shopping by Mail 
Forms of Orders 
Miscellaneous Business Letters 
Family Letters 
Miscellaneous Notes and Letters 



These new and Original Letters have been written expressly for this work in an easy 
and elegant style, furnishing excellent models which fulfill all the social, formal and 
business conditions that occur in the Correspondence of Ladies who move in refined 
society. There are many otherwise highly accomplished ladies who experience con- 
siderable difficulty in inditing a good letter, and frequently find themselves embarrassed 
from a want of facility in method of expression and proper form; to them this work 
is especially adapted, and will afford them valuable aid in rendering the task of cor- 
respondence easy and light. 12mo., Cloth, Price \ . . . $1.25. 

Dick's Mysteries of the Hand; or, Palmistry made Easy. Trans- 
lated, Abridged and Arranged from the French Works of Desbarrolles, D'Arpentigny 
and De Para d'Hermes. This book is a concise summary of the elaborate works of the 
above-named authorities on Palmistry. 

The various lines and mounts on the palm of the hand, and the typical formation 
of the hand and fingers are all clearly explained and illustrated by diagrams. The 
meaning to be deduced from the greater or less development of these mounts and 
lines (each of which has its own signification), also from the length, thickness and 
shape of the thumb and fingers, and from the mutual bearing they exercise on 
each other, is all distinctly explained. 

Complete facility for instant reference is insured by means of marginal notes by which 
any point of detail may be found and consulted at a glance. 

By means of this book the hitherto occult mystery of Palmistry is made simple and 
easy, and the whole Art may be acquired without difficulty or delay. It is emphati- 
cally Palmistry in a nutshell, and by its use, character and disposition can be dis- 
cerned and probable future destiny foretold with surprising accuracy. Illuminated 
paper cover 50 cts. 

Dick's Hand-Book Of Whist. Containing Pole's and Clay's Rules for 
playing the modern scientific game; the Club Rules of Whist, and two interesting 
Double Dummy Problems. This is a thorough treatise on the game of Whist, taken 
from " The American Hoyle " which is the standard authority. It covers all the 
points and intricacies which arise in the game; including the acknowledged code of 
etiquette observed by the players, with Drayson's remarks on Trumps, their use and 
abuse, and all the modern methods of signalling between partners. Price 25 cts. 

Eavanaugh's New Speeches and Dialogues for Young Children. 

Containing easy pieces in plain language, readily understood by little children, and 
expressly adapted for School Exhibitions and Christmas and other juvenile celebra- 
tions. By Mrs. Russell Kavanaugh. This is an entirely new series of Recitations and 
Dialogues by this author, and full of pieces, in her well-known style of familiar 
simplicity, admirably calculated to give the little ones additional opportunities to 

distinguish themselves before an audience. 16mo. Paper cover 30 Ct3. 

16mo. Board cover 50 Cts. 



Popular Books sent Free of Postage at the Prices annexed. 
Dick's Book of Toasts, Speeches and Responses. Containing Toasts 

and Sentiments for Public and Social Occasions, and specimen Speeches with appro- 
priate replies suitable for the following occasions : 



Public Dinners, 
Social Dinners, 
Convivial Gatherings, 
Art and Professional Banquets, 
Manufacturers' Meetings, 
Agricultural and Commercial Festivals, 
Special Toasts for Ladies, 
Christmas, Thanksgiving and other 
Festivals, 



Friendly Meetings, 

Weddings and their Anniversaries , 

Army and Navy Banquets, 

Patriotic and Political Occasions, 

Trades' Unions and Dinners, 

Benedicts' and Bachelors' Banquets, 

Masonic Celebrations, 

Sporting Coteries, 

All Kinds of Occasions. 



This work includes an instructive dissertation on the Art of making amusing After-dinner 
Speeches, giving hints and directions by the aid of which persons with only ordi- 
nary intelligence can make an entertaining and telling speech. Also, Correct Rules 
and Advice for Presiding at Table. 

The use of this work will render a poor and diffident speaker fluent and witty — and 
a good speaker better and wittier, besides affording an immense fund of anecdotes, 
wit and wisdom, and other serviceable matter to draw upon at will. 

Paper covers. Price 30 cts. 

Bound in boards, cloth back 50 CtS. 

Dick's Parlor Exhibitions, and How to Make them Successful. Con- 
taining complete and detailed directions for preparing and arranging Parlor Exhibi- 
tions and Amateur Performances. It includes, 



Tableaux Vivants, 
Living Portraits, 
Living Statuary, 
Dame History's Peep Show. 
Shadow Pantomimes. 



Popular Ballads illustrated by 

appropriate action, 
Charades of all kinds, 
Parlor Pantomimes, 
Punch and Judy, 



AND FIFTY OTHER DIVERTING PARLOR PASTIMES AND AMUSEMENTS. 

It contains also a full Catalogue of the celebrated "Art Exhibition"; and a practical 
treatise on the wonderful Science of Second-Sight, by the aid of which all the start- 
ling effects and achievements of second-sight may be performed by any one possess- 
ing a tolerably retentive memory. 

This work i3 thoroughly practical, and gives the fullest instructions for preparing and 
lighting the stage, the construction of the Frames for Living Portraits, and shows 
how each performance can be presented with complete success. It is illustrated with 

numerous engravings explaining the text. 150 pages, paper cover SO CtS. 

Bound in boards, cloth back 50 CtS. 

Worcester's Letter- Writer and Book of Business Forms, for Ladies 

and Gentlemen. Containing Accurate Directions for Conducting Epistolary Cor- 
erspondence, with 270 Specimen Letters, adapted to every Age and Situation in Life, 
and to Business Pursuits in General; with an Appendix comprising Forms for Wills, 
Petitions, Bills, Receipts, Drafts, Bills of Exchange, Promissory Notes, Executors' 
and Administrators' Accounts, etc., etc. This work is divided into two parts, the 
portion applicable to Ladies being kept distinct from the rest of the book, in order to 
provide better facilities for ready reference. The Orthography of the entire work is 
based on Worcester's method, which is coming more and more into general use, from 
tlie fact that it presents less ambiguity in spelling. 216 pages. 
Bound in boards, cloth back 50 cts. 

Dick's One Hundred Amusements for Evening Parties, Picnics and 

Social Ga herings. This book is full of Original Novelties. It contains: 



New and A I tractive Games, clear// illusira- 
t d iff means cf Witty Eximples, shotv- 
ing Jioiu each may be most successfully 
plat/ed. 

Surprising Tricks, easy of performance. 

Music d end other innocent sells. 



A variety cfnno and ingenious puzrles. 

Comical illusions, .fully described. These 
surprising and grotesque illusions are vry 
startlinn in th<ir effects, and present little 
or no difficulty in thdr preparation. 



ALSO AN ENTIRELY NEW VERSION OF THE CELEBRATED "MRS. JARLEY's WAX WORKS." 

The whole beng illustrated by sixty fine wood engravings. Paper covers 30 cts. 

Bound in boards, with cloth back 50 cts. 



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How to Conduct a Debate. A Series of Complete Debates. Outlines 
of Debates and Questions for Discussion. In the complete debates, the questions for 
discussion are defined, the debate formally opened, an array of brilliant arguments 
adduced on either side, and the debate closed according to parliamentary usages. The 
second part consists of questions for debate, with heads of arguments, for and against, 
given in a condensed form, for the speakers to enlarge upon to suit their own fancy. 
In addition to these are a large collection of debatable questions. The authorities to 
be referred to for information being given at the close of every debate throughout the 

work. By F. Rowton. 232 pages. Paper covers 50 CtS. 

Bound in boards, cloth back 75 CtS. 

Day's Book-Keepijlg Without a Master. Containing the Rudiments 

of Book-keeping in Single and Double Entry, together with the proper Forms and 
Bulesfor opening and keeping condensed and general Book Accounts. This work is 
printed in a beautiful script type, and hence combines the advantages of a handsome 
style of writing with its very simple and easily understood lessons in Book-keeping. 
The several pages have explanations at the bottom to assist the learner, in small type. 
As a pattern for opening book accounts it is especially valuable — particularly for those 
who are not well posted in the art. Day's Book- Keeping is the size of a regular quarto 
Account Book, and is made to lie flat open for convenience in use 50 CtS. 

The Young Reporter; or, How to Write Shorthand. A complete 

Phonographic Teacher, intended as a School-book, to afford thorough instructions- to 
those who have not the assistance of an Oral Teacher. By the aid of this work, and 
the explanatory examples which are given as practical exercises, any person of the 
most ordinary intelligence may learn to write Shorthand, and report Speeches and Ser- 
mons in a shox t time. Bound in boards, with cloth back 50 CtS. 

Howard's Book of Conundrums and Biddies. Containing over 1,200 

of the best Conundrums, Riddles, Enigmas, Ingenious Catches and Amusing Sells ever 
invented. This splendid collection of curious paradoxes will afford the material for a 
never-ending feast of fun and amusement. Any person, with the assistance of this 
book, may take the lead in entertaining a company, and keep them in roars of laughter 

for hours together. Paper covers 30 ctS. 

Bound in boards, cloth back 50 CtS. 

The Parlor Magician; or, One Hundred Tricks for the Drawing- 

Hoom. Containing an extensive and miscellaneous collection of Conjuring and Leger- 
demain, embracing : Tricks with Dice, Dominoes and Cards; Tricks with Ribbons, 
Rings and Fruit ; Tricks with Coin, Handkerchiefs and Balls, etc. The whole illustrated 

and clearly explained with 121 engravings. Paper covers 30 CtS. 

Bound in boards, with cloth back 50 CtS, 

Book of Riddles and 500 Home Amusements. Containing a curious 

collection of Riddles, Charades and Enigmas ; Rebuses, Anagrams and Transpositions ; 
Conundrums and Amusing Puzzles ; Recreations in Arithmetic, and Queer Sleights, 
and other Entertaining Amusements. Illustrated with 60 engravings. Paper. . 30 cts. 
Bound in boards, with cloth back 50 cts, 

The Book Of Fireside Games. Containing an explanation of a variety 
of Witty, Rollicking, Entertaining and Innocent Games and Amusing Forfeits, suited 
to the Family Circle as a Recreation. This book is just the thing for social gatherings, 

parties and picnics. Paper covers SO cts. 

Bound in boards, cloth back 50 ctS. 

The Book of 500 Curious Puzzles. Containing a large collection of 

Curious Puzzles, Entertaining Paradoxes, Perplexing Deceptions in Numbers, Amus- 
ing Tricks in Geometry, illustrated with a great variety of Engravings. Paper, SO ct3« 
Bound in boards, with cloth back CO ClS. 

Parlor Tricks With Cards. Containing explanations of all the Tricks 
and Deceptions with Playing Cards ever invented. The whole illustrated and made 

plain and easy with 70 engravings. Paper covers .30 CtS. 

Bound in boards, with cloth back 50 ,cts. 

The LanPTiag'O of Flowers. A complete dictionary rf the T.angua.rre of 
Flowers, and the sentiments which they express. Well arranged and comprehensive 
in every detail. All unnecessary matter has been omitted. This little volume is des- 
tined to fill a want long felt for a reliable book at a price within the reach of all. 
Paper > *. 15 CtS. 



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Rarey & Knowlson's Complete Horse Tamer and Farrier. A New 

and Improved Edition, containing : Mr. Rarey's Whole Secret of subduing and Break- 
ing Vicious Horses ; His Improved Plan of Managing Young Colts, and Breaking 
them to the Saddle, to Harness and the Sulky. Rules for Selecting a Good Horse, and 
for Feeding Horses. Also the Complete Farrier or Horse Doctor, being the result of 
fifty years' extensive practice of the author, John C. Knowlson, during his life an 
English Farrier of high popularity; containing the latest discoveries in the cure of 
Spavin. Illustrated with descriptive engravings. Bound in boards ...50 CtS. 

How to Amuse an Evening Party. A. complete collection of Home 

Recreations. Profusely Illustrated with over Two Hundred fine wood-cuts contain- 
ing Round (James and Forfeit Games, Parlor Magic and Curious Puzzles, Comic 
Diversions and Parlor Tricks, Scientific Recreations and Evening Amusements. A 
young man with thi3 volume may render himself the beau ideal of a delightful com- 
panion at every party, and win the hearts of all the ladies, by his powers of enter- 
tainment. Bound in ornamental paper covers 30 CtS. 

Bound in boards, with cloth back 50 cts. 

Frost's Laws and By-Laws of American Society. A Complete Trea- 
tise on Etiquette. Containing Plain and Reliable Directions for Deportment in every 
Situation in Life, by S. A. Frost, author of "Frost's Letter- Writer," etc. This is a 
book of ready reference on the usages of Society at all times and on all occasions, and 
also a reliable guide in the details of deportment and polite behavior. 

Paper covers 30 ctS. 

Bound in Boards, with cloth back ...50 CtS, 

Frost's Original Letter- Writer. A complete collection of Original 
Letters and Notes, upon every imaginable subject of Every-Day Life, with plain direc- 
tions about everything connected with writing a letter. By S. A. Frost. To which is 
added a comprehensive Table of Synonyms, alone worth double the price asked for 
the book. We assure our readers that it is the best collection of letters ever published 
in this country; they are written in plain and natural language, and elegant in style 
without being high-flown. Bound in boards, cloth back, < .... 50 CtS. 

The Amateur Trapper and Trap-Maker's Guide. A complete and 

carefully prepared treatise on the art of Trapping, Snaring and Netting. 
This comprehensive work is embellished with fifty engraved illustrations ; and 
these> together with the clear explanations which accompany them, will enable any- 
body of moderate comprehension to make and set any of the traps described. It 
also gives the baits usually employed by the most successful Hunters and Trappers, 
and exposes their secret methods of attracting and catching animals, birds, etc., with 

scarcely a possibility of failure. Large 16mo, paper covers 50 cts. 

Bound in boards, cloth back 75 cts. 

How to Write a Composition. The use of this excellent hand-book 
will save the student the many hours of labor too often wasted in trying to 
write a plain composition. It affords a perfect skeleton of one hundred and seven- 
teen different subjects, with their headings or divisions clearly defined, and each 
heading filled in with the ideas which the subject suggests ; so that all the writer 
has to do, in order to produce a good composition, is to enlarge on them to suit his 

taste and inclination. 178 pages, paper covers 30 cts. 

Bound in boards, cloth back 50 cts. 

Lander's Revised Work of Odd-Fellowship. Containing all the Lec- 
tures, complete, with Regulations for Opening, Conducting and Closing a Lodge ; 
together with Forms of Initiation, Charges of the Various Officers, etc., with the 
Complete work in the following Degrees : Initiation ; First, or rink Degree ; Second. 
or Royal Blue Degree ; Third, or Scarlet Degree. By Edwin F. Lander. This hand- 
book of the Revised Work of the Independent Order of Odd- Fellowship has been pre- 
pared in conformity with the amendments and alterations adopted by the Sovereign 
Grand Lodgo of Canada in September, 1880, 16mo, paper cover 25 Cts. 

Live and Le^rn. A guide for all those who wish to speak and write 
correctly; particularly intended as a Book of Reference for the solution of difficulties 
connected with Grammar, Composition, Punctuation, <fcc, containing examples of 
1,000 mistakes of daily occurrence in speaking, writing and pronunciation. 
Cloth, 16 mo. > 216 pages .30 ctg. 



Popular Books sent Free of Postage at the Prices annexed. 
Dick's Quadrille Call-Book and Bali-Room Prompter. Containing 

clear directions how to call out the figures of every dance, with the quantity of music 
necessary for each figure, and simple explanations of all the figures which occur 
in Plain and Fancy Quadrilles. This book gives plain and comprehensive instruc- 
tions how to dance all the new and popular dances, fully describing 

March and Cheat Quadrilles, 



The Opening March or Polonaise, 
Various Plain and Fancy Quadrilles, 
Waltz and Glide Quadrilles, 
Plain Lancers and Caledonians, 
Glide Lancers and Caledonians, 
Saratoga Lancers, 
The Parisian Varieties, 
The Prince Imperial Set, 
Social and Basket Quadrilles, 
Nine-Pin and Slar Quadrilles, 
Gavotte and Minuet Quadrilles, 



Favorite Jigs and Contra-Dances, 
Polka and Polka Redowa, 
Redowa and Redowa Waltz, 
Polka Mazourka and Old Style Waltz, 
Modern Plain Waltz and Glide, 
Boston Dip and Hop Waltz, 
Five-Step Waltz and Schottische, 
Varsovienne and Zulma L'Orientale, 
Galop and Deux Temps, 
Esmeralda, Sicilienne, Danish Dan~e. 



AND OVEB ONE HTINDBED FIGURES FOR THE " GERMAN." 

To which is added a Sensible Guide to Etiquette and Proper Deportment in tne Ball 
and Assembly Room, besides seventy pages of dance music for the piano. 

Paper covers 50 OtS- 

Bound in boards , 75 CtS. 

The American Hoyle ; or, Gentleman's Hand-Book of Games. Con- 
taining all the games played in the United States, with rules, descriptions and techni- 
calities, adapted to the American methods of playing. By Trumps. Thirteenth 
edition; illustrated with numerous diagrams and engravings. This work is designed 
and acknowledged as an authority on all games as played in America, and an arbiter 
on all disputed points. In each of the previous editions, the work was subjected to 
careful revision and correction; but this, the Thirteenth Edition, is Entirely New, 
and re -written from the latest reliable sources. It includes an exhaustive treatise on 
Whist, with the latest essays on the modern game by Clay, Pole, Drayson, &c, &c. 
Also a lucid description of all the games now in vogue in America, with the laws that 
govern them, revised and corrected to conform to present usages, and embraces an 
elaborate and practical analysis of the Doctrine of Chances. 
12mo, cloth, 536 pages $2.00 

The Amateur Printer ; or, Type-Setting at Home. A thorough and com- 
plete instructor for the amateur in all the details of the Printers' Art, giving practical 
information in regard to type ink, paper and all the implements requisite, with 
illustrated directions for using them in a proper manner. It teaches how to set type 
in the stick, transfer the matter to the galley and make it up in forms; also how to 
take proofs and correct them, showing all the signs used by practical proof-readers in 
correcting proofs; it illustrates the plan of the type-case, showing the relative posi- 
tions of the compartments alloted to the type of each letter, etc., and the correct 
manner of replacing or distributing type in the case. The practical instructions 
given in this work are complete and so plainly described that any amateur can become 
a good printer by studying and applying the information it contains. 
Paper covers 25 CtS. 

The Modern Pocket Hoyle. By "Thumps." Containing all the games 
of skill and chance, as played in | this country at the present time, being 
an "authority on all disputed points." This valuable manual is all original, or 
thoroughly revised from the best and latest authorities, and includes the laws and 
complete directions for playing one hundred and eleven different games. 388 pages, 

paper covers 50 CtS. 

Bound in boards, with cloth back 75 CtS. 

Bound in cloth, gilt side and back $1.25* 

The Bartender's Guide ; or How to Mix all Kinds of Fancy Drinks. 

Containing clear and reliable directions for mixing all the beverages used in the 
United States. Embracing Punches, Juleps, Cobblers, Cocktails, etc., etc., in endless 

Variety. By Jerry Thomas. Illuminated Paper Covers. 50 CtS. 

Bound in full cloth 75 CtS. 

Spayth's Draughts or Checkers for Beginners. This treatise was 

writ ten by Henry Spayth, the celebrated player, and is by far the most complete and 
instructive elementary work on Draughts ever published. Cloth, gilt side 75 & 



